


Promised Land

by DimensionSlip, Jeredu



Series: Promised Land [1]
Category: Tales of Xillia 2, Tales of the Abyss
Genre: Ensemble Cast, Gen, Illustrated
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-13
Updated: 2019-01-20
Packaged: 2019-07-11 19:53:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 39,884
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15979301
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DimensionSlip/pseuds/DimensionSlip, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jeredu/pseuds/Jeredu
Summary: Given a second chance at life, Ludger's journey starts a new chapter as he embarks on a quest to find Canaan once more--this time for the sake of people who no longer have a place in a world called Auldrant.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello dear reader. This is Slip speaking, and I thank you for taking the time to pick up this fic! And well, reading this author's note. For the sake of everyone's sanity, I will try to keep this short and sweet.
> 
> I'm not sure if anyone remembers _Keeping Score_ and/or read through the afterword for that, but I made mention of a WIP _Tales of Xillia 2_ and _Tales of the Abyss_ crossover fic over there. Well, here it is! _Promised Land_ has no connection to that fic, so don't worry about having to consume that 30,000-word monster in order to understand what's going on here. In fact, I'd like to think that prior knowledge of TOX2 and/or TOA isn't necessary either, but I still highly recommend checking out either game! ~~Especially TOA, please play it--you won't regret it at all.~~
> 
> But man, _four_ years. It's been _four_ years since I've made mention of this in public and conceptualized everything ~~and wrote out the first chapter then subsequently junked it~~. Honestly, this would simply have remained another concept in my endless stash of story ideas, had it not been for Jeredu's earnest interest in the premise I laid out. At this point, this story is hers as much as it is mine, and if there's anyone that you wish to thank for this story's existence, it's her. Plus, she's done some really gorgeous illustrations for this fic, a sample of which can be seen below. Stay tuned for the full version!
> 
> Anyway, the promised once-a-week update schedule is not a joke. The first draft of this story is complete, and right now we are in the editing and publishing phase of this project of a kind. In line with this, I would like to thank [Nix](https://archiveofourown.org/users/nix501st) for agreeing to beta-read for this fic. Her comments have been insightful and are greatly valued, to say the least of it!
> 
> I'm really excited to present this story to everyone, and hope people enjoy reading it as much as we wrote it!

Ludger Will Kresnik was dead.

In an act worthy of his ancestor’s name, he sacrificed his life for the sake of another, bidding her farewell with a hug and a smile and best wishes for the future. With no regrets, he disappeared into the beyond, never to be heard from again.

…or so the story went.

But dead people did not amble around lush green fields, while staring at their surroundings in wonder. Neither were they capable of breathing in the surprisingly fresh air. Nor were they able to voice such concerns about living or dying, for that was a luxury left for the living to ponder upon.

And ponder he did, as he decided to lay on the grass, hands behind his head as he looked up the bright, blue sky.

_He was alive._

_Truly, and certainly._

For whatever reasons the universe deemed so, he was capable of breathing in and out, his limbs moved, and he could feel the wind on his face and behold the unknown, yet calm expanse before him.

And heck, even his stomach rumbled, and given the circumstances, even that was not even enough to get him down.

Another strange rumble followed, and while there were indeed some strange hunger pangs he was experiencing then, he was pretty much certain his stomach wouldn’t throw _that_ loud of a fit. Or that it would be able to make sounds happen outside of his body.

A loud roar from not too far away more or less sealed the deal, as well as the telltale sounds of swords clashing with hide and the muted sounds of human voices.

Ludger rose from his position, not without a sigh. Though admittedly annoyed that his rest was interrupted by the fighting, he could not in good conscience just leave them alone to fight the monster, not until he was sure they could handle the problem on their own.

That, and he was admittedly curious about what kind of creatures resided in this world that definitely was not Elympios nor Rieze Maxia, especially since that sound seemed quite familiar.

Making his way to the clearing, he took refuge behind a tree to observe the ongoing battle, only for his eyes to widen in shock as he observed two all-too familiar monsters attacking a carriage.

A Heavy Claw rammed its fist into the ground, shockwaves sending soldiers in red flying into the air and back down into the hard ground. It did not wait to see the effects of its handiwork, wasting no time in turning its attention to the toppled carriage. A Sylvan Wolf was way ahead of it, prowling as a seasoned predator would before moving in for the kill.

Gritting his teeth and unable to keep watch any longer, Ludger jumped out of his hiding spot and charged into one, digging his elbow deep into the belly of the wolf to keep it winded. It was likely that the carriage still had a few people inside and, foreign world or not, he couldn't chance an innocent person getting hurt.

“I’ll be borrowing this.”

While the monster was busy recovering from the blow, he grabbed two blades from the fallen soldiers and used it to shield himself from the claws of the wolf that pounced on him. While keeping his weapons steady, he delivered a kick to the stomach of the wolf. As it reeled, he swiftly brought down his blade down the monster’s neck.

As the Heavy Claw began its charge, he extracted his blade from the now fallen wolf and used it to parry the claws of the monster as it swiped at him. Neither Ludger nor the Heavy Claw were able to find an opening until suddenly the Heavy Claw broke off and let out a sharp cry of pain. Ludger noticed an arrow sticking out of it's neck, embedded in the soft flesh that wasn't protected by its armor.

Taking advantage of the distraction, Ludger then slashed at the arm of the monster. One roar of pain later, it exposed its belly, which Ludger took as his cue to charge in, delivering a series of blows that left it winded before delivering a killing blow straight to its heart.

A loud _thud_ later, it joined its companion on the ground, never to rise again. With the monsters taken care of, Ludger threw his glance towards the direction of the arrow, surprised to find out that it seemed to have come from the window of the carriage.

“Are you o—”

But before he could finish his sentence, he found his vision blurring and footing unsteady, falling to his knees as the world blinked out of focus.

The last thing he saw before the world went black was a few soldiers approaching him, and someone with blonde hair coming out of the carriage, murmuring something unintelligible.

_Maybe, just maybe, he should have addressed his food problem before taking on these brutes._


	2. Chapter 2

" _...r… e…_ "

Had he been dreaming...? There was a fractured dimension that did not feel like one at all, some monsters, and then--

"You're awake."

A gentle, feminine voice led him out of his slumber, as unfamiliar as the grey ceiling he'd awoken to. Yet, despite how soothing her tone was, he still bolted straight up from where he lay, alert despite how lightheaded he was from hunger.

"...Where am I?"

"A quarantine room in the dungeons," she replied, expression apologetic. "Sorry. Everyone else wanted to play it safe, especially with these new monsters out and about."

Silence fell over them as Ludger mulled upon that information. Strangely enough, the only thing familiar about this world were those monsters that he defeated, so for the woman to call them "new"... it certainly was baffling.

"...What is your name?"

"...Ludger," he said, attempting to affect a more natural tone, deciding not to reveal his full name.

"Ludger. It's nice to meet you," she said, smiling in a manner that did not reach her eyes, "I'm Natalia. Where are you from?"

_Trigleph_ , he almost automatically said. However, given the many unknowns here, it seemed prudent to keep certain cards close to his chest--at least until he got a better hold of the current situation.

"Are you lost? What were you doing before you saved us?"

Natalia seemed to sense his hesitation and gave him a reassuring smile. It was a much more genuine one than last time, but despite that Ludger still could not help but feel perturbed.

"...I apologize if I'm being too pushy. Everyone's been on the edge since the outbreak… And given your uncanny combat prowess, the others were suspicious. If it weren't for everyone's peace of mind, I wouldn't be as interested in any answers you might be able to give us." Natalia said, exhaling, "They wanted to take blood samples to test for contamination while you were asleep, but I told them not to."

_Contamination?_ As far as Ludger knew, those monsters did not cause poison effects, but regardless, she did not seem to take notice of Ludger's slightly alarmed--if a bit confused--expression, continuing with her line of thought as another solemn smile crossed her features.

"You have your own secrets, right?"

To which Ludger's expression flattened, face creasing into that of concern as he observed Natalia with her downcast gaze, almost as if she were looking at something beyond the present. The silence that followed was pregnant, only interrupted by Natalia closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, catching herself.

"Please don't mind me. You must be hungry--I bought some food from the kitchen."

She rose from her seat and moved to the cell's table, picking up a tray which she placed over her lap once she was seated.

"I hope you don't mind egg on toast," Natalia said, offering the tray to him, which he accepted after shifting his seat to the side of the bed. "Don't worry--I didn't make it."

Somewhat baffled by that remark, Ludger decided not to think on it for the moment, content to address the needs of his stomach. It punctuated it with a rumble as he looked down at the humble spread before him. Flushing in embarrassment, he picked up the knife and fork and dug into the meal--surprisingly tasty despite having cooled. He felt Natalia politely averting her gaze, and from the corner of his eye, he observed her rising and turning her back to him.

"Once you are done eating, please let me know what you want to do, moving forward. I'll make the necessary arrangements with the relevant authorities."

Ludger forced himself to look up from his plate, studying that back to him, mystified before he spoke.

"...Is it really okay for you to trust me like this?"

Natalia hummed. "I think so."

"Why?" Especially when he hadn't decided how forthcoming he wanted to be with his origins and circumstances. _Just what is this world anyway…?_

"Despite what my advisers like to say, I'd like to think I'm on point with my instincts about people," she said as she turned to face him, a mysterious grin on her face. "It would be unbecoming for everyone's queen to make such mistakes, after all."

Wait. _Queen?_ He had suspected she was some form of noble or royalty, but between the fact that she was so skilled at archery and had the time to go down to pay him a visit... Her being a queen was the last thing he had expected.

His surprise must have been clear as day, for Natalia laughed. It was the most genuine reaction he'd gotten out of her since they've met.

"It's not often I meet someone who doesn't know who I am. Did you lose a part of your memory, perhaps?"

Not trusting himself to speak, Ludger nodded slowly, thinking this may save him from the more complicated explanation involving his origins. Difficult as it was, he ignored the small pang of guilt that followed, choosing the swallow at the uneasiness in his stomach.

"...I see." Natalia nodded, relaxing slightly. "That would explain a lot."

Ludger busied himself with his meal, silently resigning himself to this lie of a kind. For better or for worse, he was stuck with it and it was be something he would be seeing through, along with its potential future consequences.

"Even then, I pray you can comply with the tests our doctors wish to do. While I can try to minimize them in exchange for the help you've provided, I'm afraid I cannot ask them to completely dispense with it. It's also for the safety of my people."

"I understand," Ludger nodded. "You've done quite a lot for me--it's the least I could do."

"Oh no, thank _you_ for understanding," Natalia said, returning his nod with a small bow, "They can be a bit troublesome, but once you've passed them you shouldn't have trouble finding a way to support yourself in the meantime as you can't remember where you came from."

Natalia sighed. "...I'm sorry; I know that doesn't sound very charitable. The present situation just has everyone spread thin, so if you can support yourself, you'll be much better off."

A small pause followed, which Natalia filled promptly by turning towards the cell's door, followed by a glance towards Ludger.

"I shouldn't stay too long, as I have other duties to attend to. I'm not sure if we'll see each other again after this, but regardless, please take care and make sure to fill up the next time."

With one last smile, Natalia departed and left him to his thoughts, leaving the cell unlocked as she did so.


	3. Chapter 3

A wise person once said that if one doesn't work, they cannot eat.

Obvious as the statement was, it had never been truer for Ludger until now. Especially when it was his only course for survival in this unknown world--or Auldrant, as it seemed to be called.

As Natalia had inferred, once he had cleared all the tests asked of him with flying colors, Ludger easily landed a job dealing with monsters outside of the city--the most lucrative of the available postings given that only a few had dared to try. The farther the mark tended to be, the more he earned for it, and given that it was a good opportunity to get a better lay of the land, he seized it and made the most out of it.

In a few weeks’ time, Ludger earned enough to pay his own rent with more than enough to spare, as well as gaining more knowledge about the world he'd ended up in. This world of fonons had just come from a war not too long ago, and it was settling into a time of uneasy peace at the moment. After settling the turmoil wrought by the overturning of a prophecy called the Score, most of Auldrant had been ravaged by a plague soon after. Having claimed most of Auldrant’s population, it spelled the end of the Malkuth Empire, along with smaller states like Daath, Chesedonia, and Yulia City. Kimlasca, the name of the kingdom he had settled in, was thankfully spared from the worst of it, and was now the sole power left standing. With Aberria as the only continent left thriving, Auldrant was mostly a desolate world, with Baticul and Belkend being the last of humanity's strongholds from the monster threat that emerged after the worst of the plague had run its course.

This, more or less, was Ludger's present, and it was a reality he tried to adjust to. While his days in his Baticul apartment did not feel all that different from his days of trying to pay off his 20 million gald debt in Elympios, a certain level of wistfulness overcame him as he opened the door to his living place, only to be greeted with unfamiliar furniture and bare walls. At times, he would absently reach out for cat food when he went out to shop, or he would entertain second thoughts about adding in tomatoes to whatever meal he was creating before realizing how unnecessary both were.

The only thing that seemed to be unchanged was his appearance from the time he sacrificed himself, looking like he had not aged not a single day since then. It was with that in mind that one of his earlier and continued purchases happened to be a bottle of black dye for his bangs--a stubborn attempt to keep up with his old appearance, and a reminder of his cherished memories of Elle and the others.

It was perhaps a hope to return to them someday as well, however unlikely it might be.

A month later, Ludger’s missions brought him to the outskirts of a town once known as Chesedonia. Previously a thriving marketplace, it had long since been abandoned--left to sink into the sand and into nothingness. While some buildings remained standing, Ludger felt it was only a matter of time before the bitter desert wind weathered them down along with the remains of what Ludger suspected to be carts and stalls.

The desert wind beat against his cloak, its usefulness was just as limited ashis vision, despite the goggles he had donned for the occasion. His mark was supposed to be in town, but given how there was nothing but sand and dust in front of him, it was difficult to see where the city began or ended--or anything in front of him, for that matter.

Ludger was lost in thought, lingering on the fruitlessness of his mission. He couldn't help regretting even taking it because he knew the desert was no joke...especially when going it alone. Just when he'd almost begun entertaining the thought of giving it up and heading back to the oasis camp a faint sound caused Ludger to stop in his tracks.

"...find… the...."

"...said… here…"

His eyes widened at the few words he could make out. _Humans? This far out?_ Concern mingling with curiosity prompted him to reconsider his plans, discerning the direction it came from and following the trail of barely distinguishable voices.

"..is… rect..."

"...areful..."

The wind made it hard for him to tell if he was getting any closer to the source of the voices, which seemed to come and go as he traversed the ruined desert city. Straining his ears and concentrating on the sound, he nearly stumbled over a wooden pole hidden by the sand, only able to regain his balance by having taken measured footsteps beforehand.

"...ho's… ere?"

The voices stopped, and Ludger, for the first time since his arrival, felt a chill in the air that wasn't from the frightful beasts he'd had to slay. Still, he could not help but be mystified--the sand should have muffled the noise caused by his untimely stumble, and moreover--

A dark beam of light pierced through the wind and his thoughts--but thankfully not through him, by virtue of Ludger quickly dropping to the ground as soon as he’d sighted it. Footsteps grew louder as they approached him; this wasn’t at all the manner in which he wished to be discovered. Another shot was fired in his direction, which he avoided by rolling several feet across the sandy expanse before him.

However, before Ludger could raise his hands in surrender or show anything to the effect of being harmless, a telltale, inhuman sound caused him to snap his head towards its source, eyes widening as a large horn peeked out of the sandstorm.

"Watch out!"

Scrambling to his feet and drawing his blades, he leapt forward blindly, hoping he could at least land a blow on the side of the monster. It was the behemoth he had been after this whole time. Thankfully, he managed to hit his intended mark--a little too well, given how the monster roared and alerted the concerned voices to his presence, all the while trying to shake him off.

"Who--"

"Jade's still down!" Someone said urgently, sounding distinctly male. "You need to handle casting for now, Anise!"

"But--tch, fine!" A young voice piped up--definitely female. "Don't blame me if my aim is off!"

"Wait--" Ludger's protests were lost in the wind as he attempted to dislodge himself from the monster without injuring himself--to no avail as the monster continued to flail, clearly irritated by the disturbance he caused. From the corner of his eye, he could see a girl standing in place, twirling her staff as another person stepped to the side with a drawn sword--perhaps the guy he heard earlier.

The behemoth, sensing danger, cocked its head towards them and began charging. It was unmindful of Ludger, who had abandoned his original plan of dislodging. He wasn’t keen on trying it while in the middle of being dragged along for a wild charge.

The spell managed to hit the beast's flank, barely missing Ludger's foot. It let out a deafening roar, and Ludger was too busy hanging on for dear life to cover his ears... But then it reared back, and Ludger took that opportunity to dislodge himself--a task at which he succeeded, but at the expense of leaving his firmly lodged dual blades behind.

"...Tha--"

As he got to his feet, most of the girl's--Anise's--statement dissolved into unintelligible murmurs, but from what little he could make out, it seemed he was not missing out on much, save for colorful language of a kind. That was probably just as well, what with the beast charging towards the both of them.

His hands met thin air as he reached for the guns strapped around his waist. The belt containing them was nowhere in sight. Alarmed, Ludger surmised that it must have snapped off while he was engaged with the monster. Yet, time was not a luxury he could afford, especially with two--possibly three--people in danger of being trampled that moment.

_Time..._

"Wh--?!"

Ludger did not need to look behind him to see the shock painted on Anise's face--his unwitting companions' surprise was as palpable as the danger in front of him--a danger from which he was now shielding them, by virtue of the spear he was suddenly wielding.

Their reactions to his Chromatus form and his heightened reflexes were the least of his worries, even with the million questions he had with regard to the apparent functionality of the ability. For now, it was best that he took care of the monster as soon as he could, especially because he did not know how long this transformation would last.

"White Tiger Strike!"

It seemed that the swordsman got his bearings first, even if the stunt he pulled was ineffectual against the beast's hide. Still, it successfully distracted the behemoth, enabling Ludger to break its guard and to land a flurry of blows on its soft underbelly.

"Take this!"

Again, a black shot of what seemed to be an arte brushed past him dangerously, narrowly missing his shoulder as it hit the side of the monster once more.

"Be careful!" The stranger shouted.

"I told you, my aim's screwed!" she shot back, "And like hell I'm casting Negative Gate--"

The rest of her sentence was drowned out by another roar--an ear-splitting one. It was a distraction which proved to be to Ludger's detriment when he took a swipe to the chest, sending him flying and nearly crashing into Anise. His back impacted the wall of an all-but leveled house. Groaning, his transformation undid itself as he lay slumped on the ground.

"Damn, for the Colonel to be down now of all times..."

As annoyed as she sounded, worry was more evident in her tone as Ludger attempted to focus on what was in front of him: the back of a pigtailed girl wielding a staff, the figure of a man some few meters away from them, and the sickening crunch of metal shattering in his futile attempt to stop the behemoth. All the while, Ludger's legs gave protest as he willed himself to his feet, hoping the need to protect would fuel him.

" _I, who stand in the full light of the heavens, command thee, who opens the gates of hell._ "

An unfamiliar voice came up from the side as Ludger managed to get himself on a knee. He was breathing hard while scouring the area for anything he could use as a weapon.

_No such luck._

"Come forth, divine lightning!" The dusty sky crackled, a bolt of lightning parting it. "This ends now!"

Ludger's vision went white as the unmistakable sound of thunder boomed, too close for comfort. The words that followed were drowned out by a large creature charging at him seemingly out of nowhere, suffocating him with its embrace as sparks danced around him and gave way to darkness.

And so, for the second time in not even two months, Ludger Will Kresnik fainted in the middle of the battlefield, lying amongst strangers with barely a clue as to what just transpired.


	4. Chapter 4

"You're awake."

An overwhelming sense of deja-vu filled Ludger as his bleary-eyed gaze focused. The dark grey of the ceiling was a strangely familiar sight given the memorable incident that happened barely a month ago, notwithstanding the feeling of being pulled from the murky depths of an equally strange-yet-familiar dream.

But that was where the similarities ended. The speaker’s brusque tone was foreign, as was the speaker herself. The girl by his bedside was markedly different from the young woman he'd had the questionable pleasure of interacting with not too long ago. Dark hair in pigtails, a uniform-like outfit at odds with their surroundings...

Oh. _Anise._

"Before you ask," she said pointedly, no doubt sensing his intentions, "it's been half a day since you passed out. And your stuff is over there."

She gestured towards the box by the foot of the bed, frowning as she did so.

"...You hunters sure do have it easy, but whatever," she said, shrugging, "I guess you wanna know where you are right now."

She tossed him a glance. "Underground. Zao Ruins."

No other words would have had Ludger's eyes widening the way they did that moment, alarm sending him bolting straight up from the bed. He would have climbed out and grabbed a weapon, had he not encountered a pounding headache that threatened to send him back in his bed.

"But I thought--"

"It was abandoned?" She asked testily, "Dangerous and unfit for human habitation?"

A pause. "That one is probably correct." She proceeded to mutter something under her breath. "That aside, I guess I can't blame you. Asch would have done a good job of spreading the related rumors..."

 _Asch?_ The question must have been evident in his eyes, for Anise sighed heavily, continuing with her spiel.

"The king of Kimlasca," she replied like it was the most obvious thing in the world, "you know, Nata--Queen Natalia's husband."

Ludger blinked. Somehow, Anise's response raised more questions than answers, if only by virtue of tying together two unfamiliar names.

"Right, I guess you know him by the name 'Luke'." She sighed. "Those old coots in Kimlasca would have made sure of it."

"Well, no matter," she said, shifting to a more upbeat tone. "Looks like I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Anise Tatlin, formerly of the Fon Master Guard. I'm sure you still have a lot of questions, but we do too, especially..."

A loud knock interrupted her, startling both of them.

"Speaking of the devil, there he is."

The door opened before either of them could have moved to answer, and in strode a man in what seemed to be yet another uniform entirely unlike Anise's. One piercing red eye gave Ludger an appraising look. The other... was gone, hidden by an eye patch. It wasn't until the man spoke that his identity became clear--

This was the man who had summoned the lightning.

"Colonel Jade Curtiss, formerly commander of the Third Division, Malkuth Imperial Forces," he said by way of introduction, though the title held little meaning in the present situation--to Ludger, especially.

"I hope I'm not interrupting," Jade added in a cheerful tone that suggested he didn't care if he was. "Now that you're finally awake, there are a few pressing matters we need to discuss."

Another day, another time, Ludger would have been cowed by that piercing gaze, one-eyed as it was. And while his confusion was painted as clear as day, it didn't take long for him to regain his bearings, nodding and taking the time to compose his expression.  
  
"I… suppose so."

The titles were high sounding, and for other people, perhaps a means to intimidate or assert their superiority amongst their peers. But the undercurrent of resignation with the two--as if they were simply going through the motions of declaring such frivolities--was something he could not help but note.

...Especially since Ludger, at very least, was made aware of the fact that both declared allegiances were effectively defunct institutions.

"By the way, I'm Ludger," he said smoothly, giving no indication that he had a surname whatsoever. As with his encounter with Natalia, he was the one at a severe disadvantage here, but at the very least, he still had control over this bit of information--one he intended to keep close to his chest until he could effectively ascertain its significance or lack thereof in this world.

"I'll try to contribute if I can," he said mildly, not too eager to antagonize present company, "And… thanks for saving me, I guess?"

He threw a questioning look towards the pair, one which caused Anise to fold her arms and pout.

"Yeah, that sounds about right. Tokunaga took a hit for you from the spell that the Colonel unleashed and is under repairs. I guess I have to apologize for making him a little bigger than I should have, but fainting is probably better than being dead, you know?"

Jade adjusted his glasses, not looking particularly perturbed by this possibility.

"Yes, quite. My apologies. As it stands, your.... _uncanny_ timing and assistance were appreciated." Jade's demeanor had relaxed marginally, but his scrutinizing look had not softened. "You are welcome, though I feel celebration might be premature. This is not unlike how you met Her Majesty, Ludger."

Ludger blinked. It seemed that Queen Natalia and Jade were acquainted, but to what extent, he did not know. Either way, she had not encountered his Chromatus, and thus could not have informed him of anything regarding the phenomenon they had witnessed earlier.

"Forgive me as it may have been impertinent, but..." Jade extended a hand, revealing a very familiar-yet-unfamiliar pocket watch. "Would you care to explain this? This is no ordinary watch."

"I..."

It should have been a question that he anticipated, yet the manner in which Jade brought it up still managed to throw him off. Ludger spent a good few seconds gaping at the watch, stomach coiling in threefold unease as he racked his brain for the best way to explain this item which was equal parts familiar and not--his sole tie to the world he'd long since left.

"I don't know who owns it, but I've had it ever since I can remember," he said, believing it a safe revelation despite thinking on it a moment too long. The color was slightly different from how he remembered it, though all the same, it functioned exactly like the pocket watches he had encountered--but surprisingly minus the burden of the Chromatus he'd come to associate with such things.

"...Felt natural to just use it... like _that_."

His gut twisted at the words that escaped him. It wasn't a lie, but it wasn't the full truth either. But whatever the case was, his transformation had almost certainly not gone unnoticed, especially by Jade.

"Which I guess you want to ask about, too."

Ludger was not certain how much this man had figured out, but until he could ascertain what cards were on the table so to speak, he planned on approaching this as cautiously as he could--even if such mind games weren't his forte.

...Which might be just as well, as Jade seemed to consider this with a look that said _I know you're hiding things_.

"My, my. I would, but are you _volunteering_ that information, Ludger?" Jade raised his single visible eyebrow. Ridiculous as the thought was, somehow Ludger felt that Jade was peering into his mind, seemingly reading into some things based on his omissions.  
  
"To be quite blunt, I'm afraid I must insist, at the very least, that you describe the repercussions of this ability even if you cannot divulge its mechanics or origin," Jade stated flatly, his tone brooking no room for argument. "Is it detrimental to you or your allies in any way? Are you completely in control of the transformation? Are you going to be an asset or another liability?"

It took all of Ludger's utmost not to balk at that, the message quite clear. But he stood his ground, even as the battery of questions came. While those weren't matters he was going to hesitate on answering, the sheer volume of questions gave Ludger pause, mulling over Jade's inquiries--or rather, his cleverly worded demands.  
  
"There are no repercussions as far as I could see," he said, "And the only matter I have no control over is the duration of my transformation."  
  
_Save for minimizing the direct hits taken to prolong it_ , but being too knowledgeable about the matter seemed to be a detriment to his cover story, generally harmless as that piece of information was.  
  
"As for your last question, I don't think that's for me to decide, but if there's any way I could be of help before I go back to the capital, I'll do it."

Jade smiled, though the expression was not entirely reassuring.

"Interesting. Can anyone unlock that power? Would Anise or myself, for example, have potentially triggered an unwitting transformation by keeping this while you were unconscious? Or is it uniquely tied to you?" This question was measured, considering.

"...If nobody besides us have witnessed this ability, I suggest you try to keep it that way," Jade added mildly. "I understand that this was an emergency."

"I... feel not." Is Ludger's answer to the first question, not too eager to give a sound affirmative despite his certainty regarding the matter.  
  
"I don't mind if you try doing what I just did, if you want to be sure about it. As for other witnesses, there was that one other guy with Anise." His brows furrowed in concern. "Is he OK?"

Anise looked intrigued, but the offer itself more or less confirmed Ludger's claim.  
  
"That won't be necessary," Jade replied rather brightly-- _too brightly_ , Ludger thought--and he unceremoniously handed the watch back to him.

"Thanks." Ludger took the offered item, his gaze falling briefly on the foreign--but no less intricate design--on the cover.

"If it poses no danger in anyone else's hands, I see no reason to confiscate it, given your track record of acting with discretion so far," Jade said, "As for your particular worry, Guy's arm has seen better days, but he was not injured. I'm sure he'd thank you for your concern all the same."

Ludger trained his eyes back on Jade, relief no less evident on many counts.

"That's good to hear."  
  
That sickening crunch of metal from before was still fresh in his memory, even if that sound was something he didn't usually associate with human beings.  
  
"If I may ask... why were you all the way out there?"  
  
It certainly was the last place Ludger expected to see anyone who wasn't a hunter. Though he’d seen that they could handle their own, Jade and his companions hardly struck him as the type who would have enlisted for the same set of tasks he had, especially with the titles they mentioned earlier.

Jade shrugged.

"You may _ask_ whatever questions you like, though I may not provide satisfactory answers," he said. Before he could continue, yet another loud knock interrupted the conversation.

"Ah, perfect timing."

He simply opened the door to reveal the blond man discussed moments ago, presumably Guy.

"I suppose introductions are in order. Ludger, meet Guy. Guy can explain the purpose of our little trek," Jade added with a cryptic smile, which seemed to only draw an exasperated sigh from the blond.

"It's nice to meet you."

Ludger smiled, not at all perturbed by the sight of Guy's conspicuously metal arm. At least that answered one question on his mind, even if it raised another with regard to Guy's reaction. _That sigh seemed a little too much..._  
  
Guy's expression seemed to soften slightly at Ludger's greeting. His irritation seemed to lie only with Jade's request, apparently.  
  
"Hey, likewise. I'm glad you're okay. Thanks for jumping in and helping us back there; that monster might've gotten more than my arm if you hadn't."  
  
He either hadn't seen, or chose not to remark upon Ludger's _unique_ ability. Presumably if Jade and Anise were speaking in a relaxed setting with him, he had been deemed no threat.

"But yeah," Ludger said, sheepish, "I'd really appreciate an explanation, thanks."  
  
"Right, an explanation," Guy sighed, eyes darting over at Jade briefly. Jade seemed unperturbed, but there was a weary edge to his answering smile.  
  
"...So we were tracking down an object, actually, but that monster happened to eat it. I'm guessing you were there for the monster itself, since nobody in their right mind would come all the way out here _alone_ these days unless it was a job like that..." Guy glanced back at Ludger for confirmation--who nodded--then moved to lean against the wall.

"How to put this... Given everything that's happened recently, people are getting desperate. Are you at all familiar with that old legend about a promised land called Canaan?"

_...What?_

Ludger had been following along just fine, at least until Guy prefaced the longer story to it with those jaw-dropping words. Judging by the eyes on him, his surprise must have been regretfully apparent, so denial would most likely raise more uncomfortable questions and sow distrust. It was with that in mind that he nodded numbly.  
  
"I'm not sure if it's the same one you're talking about, but I've heard of something along those lines,” was his careful, yet honest response. "With regard to recent events, are you... talking about the Malkuth Scourge, perhaps?"  
  
That much, he knew, at least. But at that instant, Anise's expression soured. She looked like she was about to deck Ludger, but Jade placing a restraining hand over her shoulder, which seemed to calm her a bit.  
  
"It's the _Great Plague_ ," she said, sighing heavily, "I thought people would have quit calling it 'Malkuth-This' and 'Malkuth-That' that given none of this was Malkuth's fault at all, but I guess not."  
  
"I'm sorry," Ludger said in earnest, scratching the back of his head meekly. "I didn't mean to offend anyone."  
  
He tilted his head towards Guy and Jade and bowed slightly in apology, knowing that at least one of them had ties to Malkuth. Guy also had visibly flinched, perhaps just as taken aback as Anise.  
  
"...it's all right," Guy sighed, looking defeated and rubbing absently at his metal arm. "Now you know. Anyway, yes. The Great Plague. Some people think it means the end of the world is coming," and by his tone, he didn't exactly imply this notion was entirely unfounded. That alone was unsettling enough. "They're desperate enough to put stock in a legend, and we decided it was worth a shot."

That was a puzzling turn of events indeed, but Ludger decided not to comment on it, as he wasn’t exactly unfamiliar with the notion. And now that the unfortunate slip of the tongue had been taken care of, it was better for them to focus on more important matters.  
  
"I see... What kind of legend was it?" He asked, trying to keep his curiosity professional. There was something he needed to make sure of--even if it may raise more questions than answers at this juncture.

Guy shrugged. "A far-fetched sounding one, I'll admit, and it was never mentioned in the Score," he muttered. "But it boils down to... needing to gather 'waymarkers' to open the path to the Promised Land. Do this, and you will be granted one wish. We aren't sure if that part is even true, but the waymarkers _do_ exist, so we're going to give it a try."  
  
Carefully, Guy reached into a small satchel and withdrew a transparent green crystal shard. It didn't look any different from the other "fonstone" fragments Ludger had seen dotting the landscape of this world, but this one _felt_ different. It seemed to radiate an energy of some kind.  
  
"This is what that monster had swallowed."

Ludger's eyes narrowed, taking in the ordinary looking stone before him. At first he hoped it was simply a fluke--that odd sixth sense kicking in when he was in the presence of a waymarker. But it was just as Guy said--this stone he was scrutinizing at the moment was no doubt one, even if it didn't line up at all with the named waymarkers he’d previously encountered.  
  
"The legend I heard goes along the same lines." Minus the mention of soul bridges in Auldrant's case, which Ludger considered a good thing for now. "But it's the first time I've seen or heard of these waymarkers actually existing."  
  
These _particular_ ones at least, but he wasn’t about to offer that bit of information readily.  
  
"You're really certain about this being a waymarker, huh. Does that mean you've gathered a few others before this?"

In response, Guy wordlessly unsheathed the ornate sword at his hip and offered it hilt-first.  
  
"Unfortunately, yes. I'm just so _lucky_ that my only surviving family heirloom happens to be one." His tone was unmistakably bitter.

At first, Ludger hesitated at the offered sword, not quite sure what might happen should the waymarkers of this world come into contact with a chromatus user. But thinking that a refusal to handle it may strain matters further, he took a moment to examine the sword.  
  
The blade was beautifully carved, blue and crystalline with an ornate guard, looking every bit the treasured heirloom Guy had called it. Yet it carried with it the same vibe as the fonstone from earlier--definitely a waymarker as well.

"...Jade is carrying the other one we've found."

Guy handed the fonstone to Anise--oddly, transferring the object to his metallic right hand before doing so.

"Let's not put all our eggs in one basket," he muttered. "Anyway, Jade was able to calibrate a little fontech machine with Dist's help to track down these things. There should only be two left."

While curious about the waymarker Jade held, Ludger did not press for the identity of the other one as he returned the sword to Guy. It seemed awkward to do so when Jade did not seem inclined to offer that piece of information, but that aside...  
  
"I guess you're telling me all of this... because you want me to help with searching for the last two,” Ludger said plainly. He did not need to have the same caliber of education as Jude to figure that one out, at least. If he were a waymarker of this world, he would have been secured long before they had this chat. And if they simply were looking into repaying the favor of his timely save, they would have taken him back to the oasis outpost, left for the sentry to discover.  
  
"That obvious, huh..."

Guy shifted awkwardly. The look he shot Ludger was a bit sheepish as he took back the sword. "If you're willing, It's highly unusual to find someone who can handle themselves like that in such a dangerous situation. There's no guarantee the last two waymarkers won't be just as difficult."

"Yes, quite," Jade said, giving Ludger a calculating look again. "I'm afraid we don't have much in the way of incentives to offer, but..."

There really was something unsettling about the looks Jade tossed in his direction, and Ludger loathed to admit how much more unnerving it would be had Jade not been down an eye. For now, he counted his blessings, and swallowed as he cast his gaze downwards in the guise of deep thought. Setting aside the thought of that piercing gaze that seemed like it could see through him, he mulled over the answer he'd long since decided upon, not taking too long before speaking again.  
  
"I'll help."  
  
He did not have a good feeling about it, but this legend was the closest thing to familiar he'd seen around here besides the monster that greeted him during his arrival, as with the pocket watch. And while his life had not been uncomfortable in Baticul, something had to be said about the possibility, however slim, of uncovering more answers to the mystery of his appearance in Auldrant.  
  
"Maybe it might help me learn more about my... memory issues. But... just to make sure." In contrast to his mellow approach from earlier, his words now took on a serious, much more firm tone. Lifting his gaze from his lap, he met Jade's head on, steady in his determination to get a satisfactory response. "What were you going to wish for should the legend prove true?"  
  
The world, whether it be this or his home, did not need another Bisley, after all.

"...Salvation," Guy muttered. "Clearly what we did wasn't enough. I don't know if it's real, but I can't just sit here and do nothing and wait for the end to come."  
  
Jade reached up to adjust his glasses.  
  
"I'm not sure if the details of the Closed Score ever made their way to the public," Jade began, though as he continued, Ludger's stomach lurched strangely at the mention of the Closed Score, befitting of its ominous reputation. "...but these events have lined up closely with it thus far. The plague, the death of Malkuth's last emperor--" and at this, both Guy and Anise stole quick, worried glances Jade's way, though Jade himself continued to speak calmly.

"At this point, we have little to lose for trying." For the first time, there was a tired edge to his words. "Thank you for your assistance." That crimson eye finally darted away, no longer transfixing Ludger like a spear.

 _The worst is yet to come_ , he did not say.  
  
"It's the first time I've heard of it,” Ludger finally said. For however Auldrant denounced the Score now, it seemed that there were darker portions of it that still were not deemed fit for public consumption. And Ludger could see it--if what he read was to be believed, they have been holding on to that system for a millennia and more, and he could imagine that there always would be people who would be unable to let go of such things--twisted as they were.  
  
"But I understand why you would try anyway."  
  
That's what Bisley intended too, after all--even if his wish left much to be desired. Moreover, hadn’t he, too, ended up putting stock in what was purportedly a myth?  
  
"I think... I'd do the same if I were in your place."  
  
_Especially if it would lead him back to where he started, so to speak._  
  
"But regardless... I'll do my best to meet your expectations."

"Thanks," Guy replied, genuinely relieved.  
  
"I would suggest taking a little time to spar and learn each other's capabilities before setting out," Jade mused, giving Ludger a thoughtful look. "Hmm. Unless I'm mistaken, that was a spear you were using earlier, yes?"  
  
Guy gave Jade a mildly incredulous look. "At least let the poor man eat first. He probably hasn't had anything for two solid days."

Ludger was about to open his mouth to affirm Jade's observation, but his stomach beat him to the punch by giving way to a rumble, much to his embarrassment yet again.  
  
"I guess food sounds about right," he said sheepishly, "I can cook in case you guys are shorthanded."  
  
Anise's eyes light up in both surprise and curiosity, but after the moment passed, she broke into a grin.  
  
"Well, it just so happens we have a behemoth carcass handy right now, and that one needs more than a lady's touch to handle. What do you think, Colonel?"

Guy chuckled. "Thought so. I'm sure Anise wouldn't mind a minion in the kitchen," he mused, not having missed Anise's expression.  
  
"My, my. I suppose beggars can't be choosers. We'd best hop to it, then," Jade said. Gone was the scrutiny and sharp, appraising expression. "Lead the way, Anise."  
  
Guy followed, donning heavy leather gloves.

"Sand tends to get into all the little crevices," he said, flexing the metal fingers, likely assuming Ludger was wondering why in the world he needed a glove to protect it. The metal hand was more durable than the leather covering it, after all.

Anise simply gave Guy a light nudge on the ribs before taking the lead, humming softly as she does so. Guy seemed to jerk away from her hand like a skittish animal, shooting a somewhat reproachful look at her bobbing pigtails, a style which looked more suited to a thirteen year old child than a young lady, but somehow she made the look work.  
  
This odd exchange was made even odder by the complete normalcy before and after it--nobody remarked upon it, as though it were routine and expected.

Thankfully, Ludger did not stumble much when he got to his feet and followed the rest out of the room.  
  
"I guess that might be annoying, huh."  
  
"Yup," Guy muttered, "though it's pretty well designed, I'll admit." His sleeve had been rolled up nearly to his shoulder, baring the metal socket halfway up his bicep where the arm connected to flesh, but now he tugged the fabric down, tucking it into the glove. The arm was indistinguishable from its flesh and blood counterpart again, hidden away. It seemed that Guy had packed a spare shirt, since the other one was now surely sporting some impressive holes.

Ludger averted his gaze, concentrating on the path they were taking. He certainly did not envy Guy's predicament--prosthesis certainly weren't uncommon around Elympios, but if the ones in Auldrant were similar to them in any way, it came with it a lot of hardship--of both the physical and emotional variety. Moreso the former--the lines that creased Guy's otherwise youthful features seemed to indicate surviving such a trauma. It seemed quite likely that Guy and Jade were survivors of the plague he had heard about, judging by how much worse for wear they were. Still, it wasn’t a presumption he was looking to validate, given the awkwardness sure to ensue.

"How do you guys usually handle food around here?"  
  
He could not really imagine the place having a kitchen, among other things.  
  
"Oh, you did say you cook, didn't you?"  
  
Guy gestured in the direction they were going. "Well, it's nothing fancy, since there's no power down here, but we do have a fire pit set up and a makeshift area for preparing food with some basic tools, spices, and clean water..."

From the sound of it, this place was some kind of long-term base of operations, rather than a temporary shelter to use while searching for the Chesedonia waymarker.

"As for ingredients... we brought some dry ingredients and non-perishables,” Guy continued. “I'm not sure about behemoth meat, but otherwise, Anise is pretty crafty in the kitchen--"  
  
(Something that sounded suspiciously like "Damn straight!" echoed from the front of their little group.)  
  
"...What kind of cooking do you like to do?" Guy asked with genuine curiosity.  
  
Jade and Anise were within earshot, still, but the former didn't seem inclined to chime in.

"Tomato-based dishes. My brother..."  
  
Ludger paused at his slip of the tongue, a small surge of panic rising at just how open he'd started to be in relation to his guise of amnesia. It was information he did not mind sharing under more normal circumstances, however...  
  
_...Maybe he could still turn this around._  
  
"I just remembered... I had a brother," he said quietly, his solemn tone only half-faked, "who liked... tomatoes as much as I do. He wasn't too good with the kitchen, so I took over chores and did all our cooking." Yet, even with his intention of spinning this into an act of recalling a memory, he found his chest oddly tight, "Unfortunately... it seems that's no longer necessary, since he's... gone from this world."  
  
Expression not at all faked, Ludger hung his head, gritting his teeth. He was not sure how long he'd last with this charade--at the moment, it seemed better to let this much of the truth come out, rash though it might be.  
  
"...Sorry," he said, exhaling before letting out a feeble smile, "That was an awkward thing to unload."

"No, I'm sorry, too," Guy whispered, a little hoarse. "Wasn't intending to make you revisit painful memories." He gave Ludger's shoulder a gentle bump with his left hand. "I'm tired of saying goodbye to people I care about. That's why _I'm_ doing this. I'm not gonna judge you for whatever scars you're carrying, visible or not," he continued, even more softly. "So there's no need to apologize."

"And same on your end,” Ludger replied. “Not like any of you could've guessed."  
  
_It's strange._ Ludger had resolved to look at Julius's sacrifice as additional motivation to carry on, but remembering it caused some untimely and unwanted feelings to well up all the same. Still, the unexpected solidarity with Guy came as a very much welcome balm, the contact a very much welcome gesture.  
  
"But thanks. That means a lot."  
  
It was the first time since coming to Auldrant that he’d felt any sort of connection with the people in it, and even if this journey did nothing to uncover the circumstances of his arrival in this world, going through it with these people seemed like it would be worth it.

Guy shot Ludger a crooked smile.  
  
"Right back at you, then. We both still have a chance to make a difference, right? We'll make it count."  
  
So maybe Ludger was keeping secrets, but he was starting to realize they _all_ were carrying painful, private burdens. Guy, at least, seemed inclined to respect his secrets rather than pry.  
  
The trek out to the behemoth didn't take long, though something caused Guy to pause as they neared the massive carcass...  
  
"Is... is this safe? How long has it been sitting out here?"  
  
Jade shrugged. "I'm no expert, but I have heard that their skin and fat contain unusual chemical compounds that double as a preservative of sorts. Of course, this also makes the meat toxic if it isn't cooked first to break down those very same chemicals."

Ludger gulped at the imposing sight before them, not at all helped by Jade's unsettlingly cheerful tone as he revealed that disturbing detail. It looked like even in death, this particular behemoth would not rest in terms of giving them trouble.  
  
"Then I guess we should get started with cutting it up in manageable portions."  
  
He drew his dual blades, intent not to waste any time getting to work.  
  
"I'll cheer you on from the sidelines!"  
  
Anise took a few steps off to the side, smiling as Ludger approached the side of the carcass.  
  
"As will I," Jade said, wearing an equally sweet smile as he followed Anise’s example, "Such back-breaking work is beyond these old bones of mine. Though Guy certainly is fit enough to do the work of two men."  
  
Finding himself the target of that smile, Guy scratched the side of his head, sighing. "If I have to send my arm in for repairs again, I'm telling Dr. Gneiss it's your fault."  
  
All the same, despite Jade's answering shrug, he drew his blade, throwing Ludger a glance and a faint grin.  
  
"Ready?"  
  
Returning the smile, Ludger replied, "As I'll ever be."


	5. Chapter 5

"Wow, that somehow smells really good!" Sniffing the air about them, Anise beamed as she clasped her hands together.

Jade cupped a hand to his chin. "I suppose if we were to die of food poisoning one way or another, this would not be a bad way to go."

"Hey, hey, no need to ruin everyone's appetite with that..." As sardonic as Guy's smile was, there's a light-hearted note to his admonishment, betrayed by the smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

"No need to worry about poisoning!" Florian, the green-haired teen who served as something of Anise's de-facto assistant, said with a wide grin. "Ludger and I made sure to do some taste testing, and it's as good as it smells!"

He set some plates of behemoth steak on the makeshift tables. "I'll distribute the rest to the others too. Luke and Tear's shares are back in the kitchen, for when they come back."

Luke? As in, _the king of Kimlasca_? Ludger’s eyes widened a bit - he hadn’t been told he’d be cooking for royalty.

Not waiting for a response, Florian skipped back to the kitchen as Ludger brought in several more plates of steak, wearing a tired, but triumphant smile. For the limitations he had to work with, the steak turned out better than he expected--a small pleasure he hasn't come to know in a while. Cooking for others certainly had that effect, and seeing the looks of anticipation and curiosity surrounding him did much to fuel an old passion he had for the hobby. Of course, the setup in the ruins was nowhere near as nice as even a home kitchen setup, but it was better than a campfire in the woods.

"Dig in, I guess?"

While none of the group were strangers to the idea of making a meal out of slain monsters, few such meals had ever been so incredibly appetizing. Florian and Ludger were right to be proud.

All the same, Ludger’s mild alarm at Florian’s earlier announcement prompted Anise to clarify that the Luke fon Fabre they were expecting was not, in fact, the King of Kimlasca. Though, that led to some interesting anecdotes... Apparently Asch, the Luke who was the actual King, was a skilled chef, but Anise grinned and assured Ludger that the Queen could probably burn a salad, and her kitchen mishaps were legendary.

As the group dug in with enthusiasm, murmured compliments swiftly followed.

"Well, I suppose if you ever tire of slaying monsters, you can fall back on a culinary career," Jade said, mild surprise crossing his features.

"I've been told."

Ludger laughed, but it came out a lot more forced than he meant it to be--a testament to the mixture of both happiness and melancholy washed over him as he watched everyone dig in. Each forkful of meat was good, of course, but the banter and air about them reminded him too well of the home he had since left. No amount of ego boosts could seem to rid him of the wistfulness that surrounded the occasion, but all the same...

"I'm glad everyone seems to like it," Ludger said, breaking into a smile and out of the faraway look that had overcome him, "It's been a while since I cooked for this many people."

"Well, if you enjoy it that much, I doubt you'll hear any complaints from this lot if you want to do it again," Jade remarked mildly, expression going thoughtful at his wistful remark. Thankfully, he didn't seem inclined to call Ludger out on his slip-up, picking at his plate once more.

Guy slid his empty plate away and glanced over at Ludger.

"You seem pretty experienced with this whole adventuring business. Did you travel with a group before...?"

"Yeah... I remember that much, at least."

Ludger stacked his plate on top of Guy's, setting aside the utensils neatly on top of them.

"Each person all had their own quirks, but we all got along. Especially during mealtime." He chuckled. "At first, I just learned cooking so we wouldn't starve back at home, but over time, I learned to appreciate the task."

It was easy, especially when it was a quick way to put smiles on people's faces.

"That's good to hear," Guy said, genuinely glad, "It's a long story but my best friend had no childhood memories due to... an incident."

Ludger quirked a brow. That was vague, but given how the road of keeping secrets seemed to go both ways here, he wasn't, again, inclined to pry.

Jade, on the other hand, chuckled, seemingly finding the conversation amusing.

"Well, anyway, your friends seemed lucky to have you around...!” Guy continued. “Hopefully, maybe when this mess is squared away, we'll be able to help you get back home, wherever 'home' is."

Ludger nodded, swallowing back that pang of guilt that assaulted him at the candid confession.

"I hope so too. I'm luckier to have them."

"Hey!" A foreign voice piped up from across the hall, louder as its owner drew closer. "What's that good smell?"

"Speak of the devil..."

Yet, Guy was all smiles at the new arrival, whom Ludger took to be none other the Luke fon Fabre who wasn't Natalia's husband.

"Luke!" Not too far behind him was a lady with long, brown hair, bangs obscuring her right eye. "We have a visitor, remember?"

"Yeah, I know," Luke said cheerfully, helping himself to one of the plates that Florian hurriedly brought in. "'M Lhuke, bhuy th wh--"

"Luke!" His companion--Tear, he assumed--covered her hand with her mouth, looking a tiny bit embarrassed as Luke practically inhaled half his steak.

Luke swallowed, unrepentant as he sucked in a deep breath. "I'm hungry, okay! It's been a while since we had anything but rations on the field."

Tear sighed. "I suppose you're right... but is that really the impression you want to give...?"

She tossed Ludger a questioning, albeit apologetic glance.

"Ludger,” he said. “It's nice to meet you... Luke and Tear, I take it?"

"Yes," Tear said, looking faintly pleased, "Thank you so much for helping out our companions a few days ago."

"It's no problem," Ludger said, grinning, "I owe them quite a bit myself."

Guy smiled along. "Consider it even for now. It's been a while since I had a meal that hearty."

"Is that a challenge, Guy?" Anise asked, a glint in her eye as she inched closer to Guy. "Do you mean to say my cooking isn't good enough for you?"

Visibly drawing back until he was at Ludger's other side, Guy gulped. "I-I didn't mean it that way!"

It took a while for Ludger and Guy to pacify Anise, and by the time they did, Luke was glancing worriedly at Jade, who looked a lot more wan than he did earlier. Jade met emerald green eyes with a smile--small, but one that actually reached his eye.

"Shall I take your high spirits to mean the mission was successful?"

With everyone having eaten, Jade looked like he wanted to address the business at hand.

"Kinda!"

While there's a pleased uptick in Luke's tone, his eyes remained narrowed at Jade, still worried.

"We've combed most of the south and found a strong reading around Inista Marsh. It's most likely there and we did a little scouting to see if we could get a more precise location, but the monsters around the area kinda got the better of us."

He sighed. "I couldn't exactly blast through them with my hyperresonance without risking blowing up the waymarker, so we came back here for now."

_Hyperresonance?_ Looking around his companions and surmising that no explanation was forthcoming, Ludger assumed it was not relevant at the moment.

"Oh, lovely," Guy laughed. "Good job tracking it down, though. I guess we can trade dry sand for wet muck."

Jade seemed satisfied with this news, though that aside, it begged the question of what sort of waymarker they might find in Inista Marsh. Possibly a repeat of this one, lurking in the gut of some ravenous monster.

"Given the monster activity in the area, we'll be glad to have one more capable fighter," Jade sighed, mouth drawn in a thin line. Ludger wondered about that, not entirely sure if Jade was bothered by the idea of trekking through the marsh, or something else all together. After all, navigating the marsh would be tedious, but no more tedious than trekking through the desert had been.

As Jade pushed himself to his feet, his hair fell forward, and a long blue bead threaded into his hair swung into view--right around the blind spot encompassing the right side of his field of vision.

Guy watched Jade carefully tuck it back out of sight. He leaned closer to Ludger to whisper,

"The third waymarker we have is a memento of the late Emperor," he said softly. "They were close. Peony was a good man."

Oh.

Ludger's nod was solemn, understanding of the implications. Jade, of the people he's met that day, did seem to be the type not to volunteer information unless absolutely necessary. And given the topic, it was only natural that he'd keep mum on the matter.

"We can go anytime, but maybe Jade should sit this one out," Luke said, casting another worried glance in Jade's direction.

"I think not," Jade said mildly, raising an eyebrow. "With six fighters, we can potentially split into two groups of three and cover twice as much ground." He lowered his voice. "Perhaps we should discuss this elsewhere?"

For a moment, Luke seemed like he wanted to argue back, but there was something in the way Jade looked then which made him deflate--a quirk which Ludger would eventually come to know as Jade's own brand of logical stubbornness.

"Never mind. Do what you want--just don't keel over on us, old man."

There was a joking lilt to his statement, but the half-hearted quality about it did much to undermine any intent to insult. Not that Ludger felt like Luke was doing that in the first place.

Jade gave a little half bow, though his expression took any sting out of the mocking nature of such a gesture. Perhaps he knew Luke meant well.

"I shall do my best~"

He turned to Ludger. "Ludger, are you accustomed to coordinating with a group in combat?"

"Yes. I'm usually the point person given the weapons I use."

This was not the time for humility, and given what he presumed to be a difficult endeavor they were about to undertake, being honest about his abilities would be better for all in the long run.

"I guess you already know given my inventory, but I can use blades and guns. I don't have it with me now, but I can switch to blunt weaponry if it suits the situation better. Though given my unfamiliarity with a lot of things around here, it might be better for me to take orders rather than to give them."

If he wasn't mistaken, it seemed to him that everyone's familiarity with each other had been bred partly by battle, and he was the very much obvious newcomer around here.

Jade seemed satisfied with that answer.

"Excellent. Luke and Tear are both capable healers. Anise and I can support with long range artes, and you and Guy--or Luke, if need be--can engage the enemy at close range. You seem fast on your feet, though I still feel it would benefit us all to do a little training together before tackling anything like that Behemoth again."

"I agree," Ludger said, thinking the proposal reasonable.

"I might have experience as a military commander, but Luke has a good head for smaller scale combat strategy and has led this ragtag group before."

Ludger nodded, suppressing a brow raise. In other words, should Jade be indisposed for one reason or another, he did trust Luke's judgement in the heat of a battle--as surprising as that might seem, given the redhead's seemingly excitable nature.

"I'd prefer we set out sooner rather than later, if we want to make it out of the desert before the hottest part of the day. Otherwise, we should wait."

"That sounds like a good idea."

Ludger was about to pick up the now tall stack of plates in front of him, but Florian beat him to it.

"I'll take care of the dishes!" Florian said, cheer not at all disappearing from his tone at the prospect. "You go handle stuff with the others, Ludger."

Before he could sound out a protest of any kind, Florian took the decision out of his hands, marching down to the makeshift kitchen with the plates.

Guy chuckled at Ludger's reaction. "All right, let's see what stuff needs handling, then."

"The sun was way up when we got back here, so we have a few hours to settle down," Luke said in reply to Jade's inquiry. "I guess we set off in a few hours, then?"

Jade shrugged. "Yes, waiting might be for the best." He turned as if to leave, then paused and gave Luke a considering look. "...If there is something you wish to discuss with me, you likely won't have another opportunity for a while once we leave."

"Yeah, I think I'll take you up on that."

Drawn as his expression was, Luke still managed to effect enough determination into it and his tone, quite decided on having some sort of talk with Jade. Ludger surmised it would most likely deal with the chronic pain the latter seemed to be experiencing, but he was not about to pry on that matter, curious as it was.

"I can spar or do some target practice with the others if you wished to gauge my abilities," Ludger said, not really directing it to anyone in particular, but he did spare a glance towards Jade, noticing that most seemed to take point from him.

Jade took a moment to consider his statement. "That would be for the best. And... The spear you used earlier, is it only accessible in that form? Hardly conducive to self-improvement with such a weapon...."

He walked over to Ludger, and with a flash of light, he materialized his own spear.

"We can find a proper practice weapon for you on the next supply run," Jade clarified. "You may borrow mine, for now. No amount of raw power can make up for form, so it wouldn't hurt to work on your technique."

With some surprise--albeit of the impressed variety--Ludger accepted the spear, readjusting his grip on the weapon as he studied it in mild fascination. It was a lot lighter than the one he had to wield in his Chromatus form, but as with it, it simply felt natural to have it in hand, prepared to unleash an arte at a moment's notice.

"Thank you. I've never used a spear outside that form before, so I'd appreciate any instruction you could give on that front."

Jade gave a crooked smile. "I think I can spare some time to that end. There's a bit more open space outside of this structure. Shall we?"

"Alright."

Without further ado, Ludger started towards the aforementioned area. Luke and Guy followed after them, perhaps curious about what Ludger could do, while Anise and Tear decided to do what they can to help out Florian in the kitchen.

Jade took a moment to join them, but when he emerged, nothing seemed amiss.

"What should I start with?" Ludger asked, throwing Jade an inquisitive glance.

At Ludger's question, Jade simply moved to join him in the open area. Without warning, he summoned a different spear--perhaps something he had to retrieve earlier--and brought it to bear.

"Me."

Well. That should have been expected as far as things go. But the nonchalant manner in which Jade delivered it was still perturbing in some sense, especially since these were very real weapons they were wielding.

Regardless, Ludger readied himself, gripping the spear in a manner he only knew how. Once comfortable with his stance, he closed the distance between them, coming from Jade's right and thrusting--aiming for Jade's midsection.

His lack of speed was apparent even to himself, but there was no time like the present not to pull any punches.

Jade sidestepped, closing the distance even moreso as he batted aside Ludger's blade.

"You're leaving yourself wide open, getting this close," he said. "Glad to see you're good at analyzing and exploiting the enemy's weakness." There was no sarcasm, only approval despite his predictability.

"Now, come at me again."

And so it continued, with Ludger attacking and Jade parrying and correcting Ludger's form and tactics. Jade refrained from using any artes, which was certainly a self-imposed handicap, but necessary at this stage. After all, Ludger had some ways to go with regard to his spearcraft, being a weapon that he picked up out of both instinct and necessity.

"I think that's enough for today." Ludger had successfully parried a few of Jade's strikes after Jade finally shifted towards offense. The brutal precision of Jade’s style alone made that feat feel like a real accomplishment.

"Very good."

Jade’s spear vanished in the same flash of light whence it came. He touched Ludger's shoulder as he passed by, only to stagger and jerk away, pressing a hand over his eyepatch.

Ludger jerked back as well, the most taken aback he had been this day. No amount of intimidating gazes thrown in his direction could have prepared him for the sight before him--very much unlike the composed Jade he's come to know in the past few hours.

No wonder Luke was so concerned about Jade's well-being.

Mouth drawn in a thin line, Luke wasted no time in approaching Jade, hovering a hand over the eyepatch as he channeled what Ludger assumed to be some sort of healing arte.

"...We're definitely having that talk."

Jade did not resist the healing attempt. He straightened, frowning, composure back in place as though nothing had happened.

"...Very well."

And just like that, their training session came to the most abrupt of ends. Ludger was at a loss for words when Luke began to leave with Jade. He turned to Guy, who greeted him with a feeble smile that didn't reach his eyes.

"It... happens sometimes," Guy said, catching on to Ludger's need of an explanation, "but Luke will take care of Jade. If you're still up for a spar, I can take over. I'm curious as to how you do with those dual blades of yours."

This time, Guy's smile came off as more sincere, if a bit of a smirk.

"Sure, why not," Ludger forced himself to return it, "I'll just get my weapons and we could do that."

About to set aside the spear, his gaze swept through the area as a thought came to mind--

"...I think I might need you to guide me back to that room."

Chuckling, Guy clapped a hand over his shoulder.

"Don't sweat it. This place is confusing as it gets at first."

For what it was worth, it did assuage a bit of Ludger's embarrassment, and with that, he allowed Guy to lead him out of the area, trusting in his judgment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> From here, Jade and Luke's discussion is continued in _**[Ch 5.5 - The Talk](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16335968/chapters/38218745)**_ , which is the next chronological installment of _**Promised Land**_. Ludger is not witness to that conversation, which is why it and any subsequent story installments from the perspective of other characters will be posted as a side story chapter. The side story collection is the next work in this series.


	6. Chapter 6

Ludger had to suppress a groan when the expected knock from Luke came, as he was somewhat sore from his back-to-back sparring sessions from a few hours back. While Guy was no Jade, he had still proven to be quite a force to be reckoned with, even if Ludger was using one of his choice weapon sets. He could only imagine how much more formidable Guy would have been should he have been fighting with his dominant hand. Either way, it seemed that they were in top form for the journey they were about to undertake--a big plus, given the amount of unknowns ahead of them.

By the looks of it, it seemed that he wasn't the only one tired out or sore--Anise made no show of hiding her yawn, while Guy looked like he was dealing with the same issues as Ludger in terms of aches. Thankfully, Tear was quick on the uptake and set to applying a healing spell to ease their morning pains.

Jade was the last to arrive, serene as ever despite some worried glances that Luke saw fit to throw in his direction every now and then. Ludger supposed that it was a good sign that their talk from yesterday did not devolve into a huge argument or shouting match, but it was difficult for him to be relieved when one of their main point people seemed to be ill at ease.

"If everyone's ready, we should get going, now that we're all here," Luke finally said, expression shifting to something more neutral. "Our goal is to finish crossing the desert before noon--after which, we can take a rest around the Aberrian Plains."

Before anyone could reply, the distant roar of an engine cut through the clear desert air.

"Ah, it sounds like a change in plans might be in order."

Jade's remark carried a note of relief. After a moment, the clear silhouette of an airship could be spotted against the evening sky, rapidly approaching.

Before long, the Albiore II had touched down some distance away. The reason soon became clear, as the engines were whipping up a flurry of sand. Soon enough, a young woman emerged from the aircraft, waving enthusiastically.

"Heyyyyy! I brought supplies, but it looks like you're headed out? Would you like a lift?"

Ludger was alone in his dumb-founded surprise, the contraption flying in the air a sight he had previously only seen either from a distance or in pictures. More than that, the lady who came along with it seemed to be friendly with his new traveling companions, judging by the warmth in which everyone received her, all smiles when she neared the entrance of the ruins.

"Yeah, we'd like that, Noelle," Luke said with a smile, "By the way, this is Ludger, one of our new fighters. Ludger, meet Noelle."

Ludger managed a smile, which Noelle cheerfully returned.

"Nice to meet you! That's pretty nice of you to help!"

Noelle turned to Luke.

"I'll be unloading these supplies before we set off, then I'll take you anywhere you need to go."

Once she went off to talk to some of the sentries, Ludger's eyes fell on the airship once more, fascinated now that he got over his initial surprise.

"Wow..."

Seeing one up close certainly had a different feel to seeing one from afar, the proximity lending a certain majesty to it.

Guy gave Ludger a gentle nudge, grinning.

"I see you have an eye for beauty. Even among fontech, the Albiore II is something else. Want to help Noelle offload the supplies? You can get a better look while she's grounded, after all, and I'm sure she'd appreciate the help."

Ludger chuckled, slightly embarrassed at having been caught staring. "Yeah, I guess I will."

It was perhaps the most enthused Guy had been since Ludger met him, an almost manic expression taking over him as they took in the sight before them. _Was Guy a fontech enthusiast…?_

Ludger started toward the airship, trying not to look too eager this time around as he wondered to himself how such a large thing could keep afloat. From the corner of his eye, he could see Jade raising his hands in surrender--no doubt the doing of a stern look from Luke's end. Taking two of the boxes he assumed to be containing gels, he walked back to the entrance, doing this for several rounds until they finished transferring the surprisingly generous stack of supplies.

* * *

With five of them on the case, it did not take long for them to unload the contents of the airship, much to the relief and delight of those who dwelled below. Natalia, it would seem, fought hard to have these sent over in lieu of what Luke and the others managed to scavenge from Chesedonia and old Malkuth cities. For the next month at the very least, the hidden settlement would be enjoying fresher food and supplies, Kimlascan though they were.

_After all, beggars could not exactly be choosers._

Ludger stamped out that last depressing thought, back to smiling as he scoped out the cockpit, comfortable in his designated seat behind the pilot. It seemed that with Noelle's lift, the days-long journey would be reduced to a few hours.

In addition--and perhaps more importantly--it came along with an encouragement to use those precious few hours to catch up on some sleep. Tear and Anise certainly did not waste any time on taking up that offer, having retreated to the rest area to do so. Luke, for whatever authoritative front he was putting, was unable to resist the lure of napping, if Ludger's observation in the resting area was anything to go by. Guy's second wind was of the temporary variety as well, having nodded off in the co-pilot's seat...

...Which left him with Jade, who, he was unsurprised to note, was very much awake.

"Is this your first time flying, Ludger?" Jade asked quietly, turning his head slightly to glance at Ludger.

Ludger had been quick to look away from Jade, not wanting to be caught staring despite his curiosity about the older man. But upon having his attention called in such a manner, he worked up enough nerve to glance towards the source, bracing himself for that piercing red-eyed gaze.

But somehow, Jade in profile was not as chilling as having to deal with the man from the front, and it was with the surprisingly relaxed atmosphere about them that Ludger exhaled, letting his guard down slightly.

"Yeah. Only ever saw them from afar before, I think."

But only slightly. There was a charade he had to keep up, after all.

"I'm guessing you've all been in here a couple of times...?"

The speed and familiarity by which Guy took that co-pilot's seat was not unmissed, as with how Tear and Anise seemed to know where everything was being kept...

"We've flown with Noelle more times than I care to count, thanks to the dire circumstances that brought us together," Jade replied, calmly, not taking offense or implying that Ludger should have known such a thing.

"It was during the global crisis six years ago." Jade said, turning to glance briefly out the window.

"I see..." Ludger simply trailed off, not really too eager to divulge more than necessary.

"Assuming _this_ crisis sees an end, what do you plan to do when this is all over?"

...At least until Jade raised that question.

"Huh?" Ludger paused, at a loss. "Sorry, I... don't know, really." He scratched the back of his head. "It's not really something I've given much thought to."

It was reasonable to ask, of course, but it certainly wasn't something he was prepared to answer by any means. Instead of inventing an answer on the spot, he opted to go for honesty, certain that he wasn't alone in that kind of situation.

"...I suppose that's understandable. With things such as they are, most people are focused on doing what they can."

"...How about you?" Ludger asked back, genuinely curious, but nonetheless bracing himself for a similar answer.

"Well, assuming we all come out of this in one piece, I suppose I'll be keeping a promise to a certain redhead about curry."

 _Curry...?_ Ludger's expression turned perplexed, assuming the so-called redhead meant Luke, but that strange answer aside...

"You aren't interested in finding your way home, wherever or whomever that may be...?"

"I guess that would be nice," Ludger said, taking the opportunity to do a stretch before relaxing back into his seat, "but just trying to survive got me occupied for a while."

 _Going back to Elle and the others..._ it was such a pipe dream, but with Canaan's apparent existence in this world, there might be a chance. Or at the very least, a chance to get some answers, if this road were to lead to the same end as the other one he’d taken.

"It's a little difficult to think about what can be and won't if there's so much that confuses you..."

"True," Jade murmured. "Perhaps we can clear up a bit of that confusion for you."

He fell silent, for a moment looking much more like the tired old man he claimed to be.

"...I don't suppose the version of the legend you heard mentioned a 'cursed' bloodline?"

Ludger froze at that mention, its implications clear despite Jade's averted gaze. Though his tone might still be soft and conversational, there was no ignoring the weight and specificity of the question. Jade was no fool.

The jig was up. Or at least, most of it.

"...Yeah," Ludger said after a lengthy pause. "Kinda."

Tempting as it was to deny such things, lies only beget more lies, and Ludger was beginning to tire of this extensive charade, necessary though he saw it. Plus, there was no point in denying things, especially when Jade seemed to have him--and a lot more--figured out.

"I guess... you probably suspect I'm part of that bloodline."

It was more a statement rather than a question, with a resigned note as Ludger slouched into his seat.

"If it involves them using their powers in order to fulfill the legend... then you wouldn't be incorrect."

Jade's eye closed.

"Thank you. I'm glad we're clear on that. As you know, then, we may not be able to complete this task _without_ your aid. If you have prior experience or vital knowledge, please do not refrain from speaking up."

Auldrant's people were more important than keeping up a facade, and Jade was not afraid of seeking expert aid.

"I do not know what we'll find for the final two waymarkers, but the reality might prove painful for some people here, if the known waymarkers are any indication. I hope you have the... fortitude to do what must be done, in that event. ...Call it a hunch."

Ludger gaped at Jade, not sure how else to interpret that uncannily insightful remark in the context of his experience.

_Did Jade somehow know about what he had to do to save their world? Of the numerous people he had to kill for its sake? Of the loved ones he had to sacrifice for the greater good?_

"...Okay, I will. But hopefully it won't prove necessary."

He wasn't sure any more if he was talking about his previous experience with his waymarker search, or of having the strength necessary to push through with necessary evils.

"Yes, well... 'hope for the best, plan for the worst,' I believe is how the saying goes," Jade sighed, perhaps agreeing with the sentiment that things were likely never going to be simple. "You have our gratitude in any case. I suppose, at the very least, I can answer any questions you might have but have been refraining from asking so as not to make yourself seem suspicious."

"I'm sorry... it's not a very pleasant association to have, which is why I refrained from saying anything."

 _A lie built on top of another lie._ Or perhaps, "half-truth" would be a more accurate depiction of reality.

"I'm not sure how relevant my knowledge and previous experience might be, but for me to figure that out... I'd like to hear about your version of the legend, if that's okay."

"I understand," Jade murmured. "Well, you're in good company," he added with a soft chuckle.

"The legend was banned by Daath, so the original verbiage might have been lost. The gist of it was 'One who wields the Power of Time shall carve a path to Canaan. With spear in hand, his life shall be the toll, and the waymarkers shall be his guides,' I believe."

He paused, giving that a moment to sink in.

"As for the waymarkers themselves, we've found Malkuth's Most Cherished," and at this Jade tapped the blue bead, "Yulia's Sword, and Chesed's Record. We are searching for Tifaret's Jewel and Keter's Sin."

To Ludger, the legend itself sounded like the way the chromatus worked back in his world, but the rest of those titles were understandably nothing like the waymarkers they had to search for back in the day.

Ludger cupped a hand to his chin. "I guess if they banned the legend, the original names may have been lost or obscured… But yeah, if I'm to go by the vibes I get from the waymarkers we've encountered so far, they're the real deal. I have no reason to believe those aren't what the legend pertains to."

"Good," Jade sighed. "After we discovered the first waymarker, we developed a tracking device that can dowse for the rest. But one can never be too careful."

"Though… there is one thing I've wanted to know," Ludger said, hesitating a moment before continuing, "has your version of the legend made any mention of soul bridges or sacrifices?"

He swallowed, nervous as he took in Jade's curious eye.

"Not at all," Jade said, "Though I imagine you're quite concerned about how your life may be forfeit at the end of this journey, given how the legend goes."

Ludger, after a moment, gave a nod in lieu of vocalizing his affirmation.

"...Have you been to Canaan before, then?" Jade asked quietly, though he seemed to anticipate Ludger’s answer.

Again, Ludger nodded mutely.

“...I see. Let us cross that bridge if and when we come to it.”

Jade had turned his head away from Ludger to glance down at the landscape passing far below. From what Ludger could see, they would still have to wait for dawn, if only because starlight and a waxing moon were hardly veritable light sources to go by. Especially if the marsh was as dangerous as the desert he just traversed.

"That aside, I suspect we'll find Tifaret's Jewel in Inista Marsh, specifically. Given the precedent set by Chesedonia, the hunt for the final waymarker will likely take us to Keterburg. Or, what's left of it."

Ludger mulled on the yet unfamiliar terms to him. Luke had mentioned as much about Inista Marsh, but...

_Keterburg..._

He’d read about it. A city up north, previously a choice tourist destination for most--until the Great Plague had struck and decimated most of its population as it had to other cities. While there were, relatively speaking, fewer casualties, the people left were hardly enough to fuel the town, and with its growing harsh climate and shortage of human resources, people were forced to abandon it.

 _Presumably for Zao Ruins, given that the civilians in that small underground settlement were primarily Malkuth refugees_ , but Ludger opted not to bring any of that up.

"What kind of monsters will we find around the marsh? It might be better for me to focus on one particular weapon set depending on what we might find there."

Jade shrugged.

"I haven't been there in quite some time. I assume monsters suited to a swampy climate, but I'm no expert."

He turned away from the window, finally, eye closed. A flicker of concern passed Ludger's expression as he noted that momentary jaw clench. _Was Jade dealing with another wave of pain…?_

"You'd do better asking Luke or Tear. They were just there."

"You called?"

Luke entered the cockpit, a loud yawn escaping him. His brief look of embarrassment, however, was quick to give way to that of concern once he sighted Jade's drawn expression.

"My cot is empty. Out with you, old man."

Jade chuckled, holding his hands up in surrender.

"Yes, yes, these frail old bones could do with some proper rest. I'll leave you youngsters to it."

Jade seemed a little unsteady on his feet as he rose. But before Ludger could make any sort of remark regarding it, he had pushed past Luke, making his way down to Luke's vacated cot.

Once Jade had retreated to the back room, Luke slid into the vacated seat, folding his hands as he rested them on his lap, leaning forward slightly as he turned to Ludger.

"You sure you don't want to rest? We still have about an hour or so before we get to a good spot for Noelle to land, and we aren't setting out until daylight."

"I've been out for two days, so rest isn't going to be a problem with me," Ludger replied, cracking a wry grin.

"If you're sure. What was it that you wanted to ask? Sorry, I didn't catch it when I came in."

"Mostly about the monsters around the marsh. Jade said that you and Tear would have a better idea of what might be there."

Luke sighed, perhaps bracing himself for a lengthy explanation. "Well, there used to be this behemoth in the marsh, but with that one gone, there's now a bunch of weird reptiles and plants around..."

* * *

As Luke had predicted, they landed a fair distance from the marsh in about an hour. But with the stars still dotting the sky, none of them woke up their sleeping companions, content to simply sit around, making small talk with Noelle as they waited for the sun to rise.

Once it did, Luke gave Guy a gentle nudge, stirring him from his slumber.

"Let's gather at the back."

"Okay."

Ludger nodded, following Luke and Guy out of the cockpit and into the room at the back.

It wasn't long before the rest of their ragtag little group awoke and joined them. Surprisingly, Jade was one of the last to emerge. Though, as if sensing Luke's concern, he shrugged with a smile.

In any case, Luke would be in the lead for the searching, but he'd focus primarily on healing during battle. With Jade in reserve, Tear would primarily handle long range offensive artes. Guy and Ludger would be their melee fighters, and Jade and Anise would guard the rear, offer covering fire via artes in emergencies, carry spare gels, and hopefully they'd be done in a few hours. At least, thanks to the dowsing device, they knew which direction to start moving.

A scan of everyone's faces, though, had Ludger observing Guy's thoughtful gaze towards Jade. Did he perhaps overhear their conversation from yesterday…?

Breakfast was a simple affair of travel rations, and before long, it was time to set out.

"Lead the way, Luke," Jade said with a little smile.

Luke did not need any telling twice, and began leading the way into the marsh. Device in hand, he took a moment to scour the area before heading off to the left, no doubt the direction being pointed at by the detector.

"What the--"

However, several feet in, the marsh's inhabitants wasted no time in making known their dislike for their visitors, with one of them wrapping a tentacle around Anise's ankle. Two well-aimed Limiteds and a slash from Guy made short work of it, but Anise by no means looked impressed, frowning at the corpse of the now defeated monster.

"Ugh," she said, kicking off the mutilated tentacle off her foot, "I hope we get that waymarker soon. I don't have time for these icky monsters I've never seen before."

The plant-beasts stank like corpses and seemed to be flowering, adding to their charm. _Lovely._

Luke still seemed confident about the general direction of the waymarker, at least. Hopefully that meant it was stationary, and thus not in the belly of yet another monster. Letting Luke lead the way, Ludger focused on the threats in front of them, watching their surroundings and scouring the soggy vegetation or murky water for signs of movement. More than once, they were nearly caught in yet another ambush as they ventured deeper.

"On your left, Ludger!" Jade said as another tentacled plant-monster made an attempt to grab him.

It was almost instinctive for Ludger to raise his blade, drawing a sharp line in the air as it made its way to its mark. He sliced the tentacle attempting to grab him, following up with another slash to combat the other tentacle zipping toward him. With an ‘ally’ marking on Ludger, this time, Anise did not hesitate to use a Negative Gate on the blasted creature, withering it to oblivion in the dark reaches of the arte.

From the corner of his eye, Ludger could see Guy occupied with another monster of the same kind, with Tear acting as his ranged support. The last thing he was able to note of before another monster took his attention was Luke frozen in place, looking like he was tempted to join the fray.

It was a moment he did not have much time to dwell upon, for his distraction cost him a hard slap to the face, staggering him as the plant-monster shot a third monster shot a tentacle towards Anise. She threw her doll forward, enlarging it just in time to protect herself from that blow...

...but not from the one that whipped from behind, slamming squarely against her back and sending her flat on the ground.

"Anise!"

Jade didn't hesitate, readying a Thunder Blade and sending it flying into the monster that had struck her. The Thunder Blade managed to hit its mark, downing the monster in an instant.

He wasted no time in sending an Energy Blast into the other monster, not having enough time to cast with the monster so close and no support. While the Energy Blast staggered the other, it recovered quickly enough to shoot another tentacle at Anise--

\--which Ludger managed to slash through by practically sliding across the ground, grunting at the effort as he found it difficult to turn his head whatsoever. Seemingly out of nowhere, something beat him from behind, sending him crashing disgracefully to the ground.

A small, warm glow filled him, easing the pain in his neck. However, it was short-lived as he heard a yelp from Tear, along with a sword being drawn--perhaps Luke joining in the fray.

He could not quite tell how many enemies were there now, but if there was anything he was certain of, it was the fact that they were in deep trouble.

Anise might be back on her feet, but at this rate, they were going to be overrun and outnumbered. The enemy had surrounded the group and closed in, and if they were not going to act quickly--

"Cover me," Jade said as he concentrated. Ludger was more than happy to oblige Jade, tempting as it was to watch the light show now that he was not vulnerable to it.

_"I, who stand in the full light of the heavens, command thee, who opens the gates of hell. Come forth, divine lightning!"_

The incantation echoed across the battlefield as he began to gather the fonons into a swirling maelstrom of unseen energy. A tentacle shot towards him, blocked by Anise at the last moment. Jade continued without flinching.

_"This ends now! Indignation!!"_

With a mighty _crack_ like a mountain splitting open, the bolts of divine lightning rained down onto the battlefield, bringing a swift and brutal death to every monster caught in its wake.

...Unfortunately, scarcely moments later, a second wave of beasts was already closing in to replace their fallen brethren. Jade barely managed to dodge a rending swipe from the jagged claws of a shadowy creature resembling a smaller version of the behemoth they just defeated a few days back.

Ludger did not wait for a command--it was time for him to transform, for better or for worse.

Seconds later, he tore through two of the beasts with ease, dodging their strikes much more effectively than he had before. However, it seemed that there was no end to their predicament, and despite the smoothness with which he had been weaving through the monsters both animal and plant alike, he knew he was operating on limited time--as with his companions, who seemed to be tiring worse than he was.

Ludger barely noticed the roar of an engine up above them, but he did notice the telltale shadow covering them, especially when both caused the monsters to hesitate. This proved to be their doom.

" _Nobody move!!_ " Jade shouted, and before Ludger could react, a beam of searing, annihilating energy ripped through the monsters scant seconds later. An arte comprised of a volley of arrows picked off the few surviving monsters. When the last beast fell, none came to take its place.

The roar of an engine up above told them of the source of their saviors--something Ludger had not noticed amid the chaos.

He spared a glance up. The familiar silhouette of an Albiore cut through the clear sky, but _this_ ship was boldly painted in black with red accents, flying low with a pair of figures braced on the bottom deck. The ship slowed until it was hovering, motionless in the air above them.

The clearing wasn't large enough for the ship to land, but a makeshift rope ladder unfurled, and the two newcomers quickly descended to join them. Ludger recognized Natalia, but the stranger accompanying her...

For a surreal moment, Ludger wondered if he'd been thrust into another fractured dimension.

_Could this man possibly be...?_

 

__


	7. Chapter 7

"Asch?!"

The relief in Luke's exclamation was unmistakable, but so was the frown it turned into as Asch finished climbing down, an identical glare meeting the other.

"Why did you do that?! You could have blown up the waymarker!"

Asch scowled right back at Luke.

"Oh, I'm sorry, should I have just left you all to die, then? Idiot. You can't save anyone if you're dead."

Asch crossed his arms. "I left _enough_ of the monsters intact that anything they swallowed ought to still be untouched. I'll take that 'maybe' over guaranteed casualties, thanks. Just check the damn tracking device, already."

And, notably, Asch had focused only on the monsters actively engaged with the party. Natalia's arrows had taken care of those lurking on the fringe of the battle. It was a calculated approach, though admittedly still risky.

Natalia swiftly climbed down the ladder after Asch dismounted, then turned to wave a signal of some kind to the pilot. The airship rose and hovered a much greater distance away.

Asch glanced around at the group, unimpressed.

"Clearly, the six of you still aren't enough to handle these mutated monsters. We'll be joining you, for now." His tone brooked no argument.

"Yeah?" There was a hint of challenge in Luke's tone, drawing himself up to meet Asch's squarely. "We can't save anyone without the waymarkers either. What are you doing here anyway?"

Sensing that the danger had passed, Ludger canceled his transformation, only to drop to one knee as he felt a wave of lethargy wash over him. Natalia ran over to him, pumping a healing spell through him as she threw Luke a glance.

"We've received reports about the marsh turning into a host for various dangerous flora and fauna, some of which have made their way to the fields. A team was supposed to exterminate them a few days back, but they were easily overwhelmed at either side. It was decided that Asch would use his hyperresonance to eliminate the monsters, but Luke told him about the waymarker search, so we could not simply just eradicate everything carelessly. "

"Then what about you, Natalia?" Luke asked, not sounding completely convinced. "Isn't it a little too much for both Kimlasca's king and queen to be away?"

Asch looked like he wanted to snap back in Natalia's defense, as well, but she shook her head, putting a hand on Asch's shoulder.

"It's a valid concern, Luke. Had we not encountered your group, for some reason, I was going to stay on the Albiore and offer ranged support. Sending Asch without backup or a healer is just as foolhardy. Between General Cecille and Aunt Susanne, Baticul will manage without us for one day. This decision was made with counsel. I am no longer the hasty teenager who snuck out of Baticul to tag along despite my duties," she gently admonished. She knew such a risk was only marginally acceptable due to the severity of the crisis they were facing.

"...From the air, it seems like the majority of the monsters had all clustered around you lot," Asch muttered with mild incredulity. "I'm not sure _what_ you did to attract them, but it made my job easier. Don't let your guard down, though. There may be a few stragglers."

Luke wore the look of someone who had been one-upped, muttering to himself as he went to check on the detector. No doubt Asch was on to something--Ludger, as they were battling, had not sensed any waymarker nearby.

"I suppose they simply went all out with their welcoming party," Jade said cheerfully as Ludger rose to his feet.

"Next time, tell them to shove those invitations up their asses," Anise said, groaning as Natalia tended to her, "They were on to me like I was some sort of 1 million gald jackpot..."

"I don't think there will be a next time, at least," Tear said mildly, blushing faintly as Luke stowed away the detector and fussed over her, "Asch seems to have taken care of most of them."

"Yeah," Luke said, with some reluctance as he channeled a healing spell, "anyway, the radar is picking up something up north. Also, that newcomer over there is Ludger, but I guess Natalia already knows that."

Ludger tipped his head towards Asch and Natalia, showing the latter a wry grin.

"Good. Well met, Ludger," Asch replied, giving Ludger a curious look. "And regardless of what you hear people saying, just call me Asch. It's simpler," he added with a glance at Luke.

"Let's not linger here," Asch muttered, scowling around at the piles of mangled monster corpses. Who knew if these things ate their own, but none of them were very eager to find out, on the chance that any stragglers showed up....

"Alright... Asch. It's nice to meet you too."

If Luke noticed anything about the glance Asch threw his way, he did not comment, preferring to lead the way to the direction he mentioned, taking out the detector again as he busied himself with guiding them. Natalia took that opportunity to sidle up to Ludger, a sheepish smile crossing her features.

"My, I'm sorry you got caught up in our business like this. Especially with what you've gone through."

"It's fine," Ludger said, waving a dismissive hand, "Seems like I'm always a magnet for these kinds of things..."

"Oh, you remembered something?" Natalia said with some surprise.

_Drat._

"Ah--yes," he said, laughing--albeit nervously, "I... haven't been completely honest with you all, sorry about that. But I can explain later once we've found the waymarker."

It was difficult to miss the various eyes on him after his admission, with varying degrees of shock and curiosity. While distrust was a given for some--particularly Asch, Anise, and Luke--it seemed to be of the minimal variety, much less than what he expected given the possibility of him coming clean about his origins.

"For now, just know that we'll be glad to have his help," Jade said, sounding a bit amused. Still, the casual remark did leagues to ease the gazes thrown in his direction, becoming more focused on their surroundings rather than him.

"I somewhat suspected back when we had that talk," Natalia said, but no accusation painted her words, just a thoughtful note to them, "but I admittedly wanted to believe it simply was amnesia, even if it was pushing matters..."

"Yeah... " Ludger said, scratching the back of his head, "I'm really sorry about taking advantage of you like that."

"More weapons drawn, less talk please," Guy said, grunting as he slashed through a tentacled creature that came their way. Biting as his words were, his joking delivery seemed to imply it was a jest rather than outright frustration.

"Right, sorry."

All the same, Ludger drew his blades, prepared to strike if need be. As they made their way north, the signal grew stronger and the device began to ping incessantly. Once the signal strengthened, Luke slowed down, taking more care in noting the changes involving it. The monsters seemed to have given up or been eradicated, as the path forward seemed completely clear, for once.

Despite the lack of monsters around, Ludger's guard was uncomfortably up, all the while bracing for the possibility of a trap. As he took down one more monster and took in the clear road in front of him, an odd sense of foreboding overwhelmed him, all the more fueling his instinct that something ugly waited for them around the bend.

"Yulia, what is that smell?"

Anise pinched her nose, none too pleased by the stench wafting towards them.

"It certainly isn't pleasant..."

Natalia looked uneasy as well, and so did Tear.

"The detector is sensing something somewhere over there." Luke wrinkled his nose, no doubt sharing the same sentiments as the ladies. "Might as well get it over with."

Jade's expression had turned serious - almost _grim_ , and Asch and Guy had matching frowns.

"You all might want to keep your distance," Guy said. "This won't be pretty."

"...But cover us," Asch said. "Stay on guard. It could still be a trap."

Jade’s resigned expression seemed to indicate that he suspected those warnings would do nothing to dissuade anyone.

"That smell is putrefaction. Decomposing organic matter. Human or animal, I suspect," Jade stated, tone clipped and matter-of-fact. "Then again, those flowering plant monsters emitted a similar rotting corpse stench, so it could just be an especially large and developed specimen of the same species, waiting to ambush us."

As Jade shrugged, Ludger tightened his grip on his blades, now able to place the smell thanks to Jade's remark. Neither was a pleasant prospect, but they had a job to do. Despite his grisly line of work, such manner of dead bodies were not something he was exposed to on a regular basis--for better or for worse.

"I'll go ahead, then."

Consequently at the helm, he approached the clearing with a healthy amount of caution, giving up on holding his breath--

\---Which proved to be to his detriment, for the ripe stench that assaulted his nostrils was like nothing he'd ever smelled before… and hoped never to encounter again, if given the choice.

Jade was correct on both counts, it would seem. Corpses littered what Ludger assumed to be the heart of the marsh, as did some flowering and reptilian fauna that were busy feasting upon them. A wave of nausea enveloped him once he sighted what he felt might have been a half-rotten human hand, and it was only by virtue of sheer willpower that he managed to prevent himself from adding to the sickening sight before them, expression grim as he readied himself.

"Let's get to work."

Jade's calm demeanor aside, the rest of the group seemed visibly shaken by the sight before them.

"We need to eradicate the monsters gathered here, as well. But we should secure the Waymarker first, if possible," Asch said. "Then there will be no risk of destroying it with a hyperresonance."

Natalia, having regained much of her composure, still couldn't completely mask her horror as she surveyed the area. To her credit, her voice barely shook as she spoke up.

"Once the marsh has been completely cleared of these monsters, we should send a team to... to recover the remains of these people. Their families..."

"Agreed," Jade said, not unkindly. There would be time for worrying about closure later. Right now, they couldn't afford to get distracted.

"Luke, please point the way. I suspect we'll find the waymarker on one of the victims." Given that the signal had been constant and steady, it wasn't likely in the belly of any beast here, but it wasn't worth risking. Whatever or whomever lay in the direction of the strongest signal... that would likely be their goal. Then, hopefully, they could work out a path toward it that avoided most of the monsters.

"...North," Luke said, grim as he looked towards that direction. In Ludger's line of sight were two of the flowering monsters they had to fight not too long ago, thankfully--or not--occupied with their meal. With luck, none of the beasts would probably think much of their small group--at least until they finished with their current meal.

Luke took a deep breath. "Ludger, you can do short-distance teleportation with that... _thing_ of yours, right?" He offered the waymarker detector to Ludger. "You probably have the best shot in getting that waymarker if ever."

Ludger rubbed the back of his head as he accepted the offered object, albeit reluctantly. "I think I only have a few minutes in me left, but I can give it a shot. Any idea what it might look like?"

"It's... likely a pendant," Luke said, somehow uneasy, "Kind of purple..."

Still, Tear's averted gaze told Ludger most of what he needed to know. It was likely hers, but the uncomfortable atmosphere that hung over them had a whole other layered meaning to it--perhaps a story to be shared another time.

"A-anyway! The detector will start going crazy when you're near it, and if you can't really tell which is the waymarker, you can go pick everything up in the vicinity. In the meantime, Asch and I will prepare to launch a hyperresonance that can take care of the other monsters here."

Flustered, Luke turned to Asch for confirmation.

Asch nodded sharply, still looking a bit jumpy and more focused on watching their surroundings. The corpses scattered about didn't guarantee they wouldn't be targeted by the scavenging beasts.

Jade, however, interjected.

"If I may...," and he adjusted his glasses, giving Ludger a pointed look, "Ludger, if you don't _need_ the radar, it might be safer left with Luke. I can't imagine a noisy machine is conducive to remaining undetected." Now, that crimson eye was turned toward Luke, and Jade's smile was a bit conspiratorial.

"It would seem Ludger is, in fact, the best person for this part of the job."

Ludger's smile was brittle as he handed back the detector to Luke, the latter's questioning looks towards him and Jade unmissed. But for what it was worth, Luke did not comment on it, preferring to pocket the object and nod.

"We'll be counting on you then, Ludger."

Jade placed a hand briefly on Luke's shoulder.

"Answers will be forthcoming, so please don't let uncertainty distract you. This is simply neither the time nor place for a lengthy discussion."

Asch glanced at Jade, then Tear, Anise, and Natalia in turn.

"If Ludger needs assistance before he even gets that far, we'll be counting on you for ranged support. Guy is probably the only one fast enough to get to Ludger on foot in time to help."

Taking out his pocket watch, Ludger swallowed back his hesitation and transformed under everyone's expectant gazes. In lieu of waiting for people's reactions to his full chromatus form, he opted to take a step towards their quarry, blinking in and out of vision thrice before stabbing the monster from behind. His delivery of death was swift and silent, with none of the other monsters the wiser with regard to the fate of their kindred. Steeling himself for the unpleasant task ahead, he cut the monster in half and knelt down, beginning his search for the waymarker he _knew_ was present.

The transformation cancelled itself as Ludger was in the middle of the unpleasant task of sifting through the monster's innards--somehow more animal-like than plant-like, if he were to dare to venture an opinion.

...Or perhaps they weren't the monster's, but it's not a thought Ludger dwelled on, given the urgency of his task. And not a moment too soon, for as soon as he spotted a telltale glint in the mud, the air about them shifted, dangerous as it was tense.

Grabbing the object as his gut told him to, he raised his head, only to find the remaining monsters' attention on him--a sobering thought given the fact that his legs did not seem to want to move.

"I've got it!"

Now, he could only pray his voice carried to his companions, and that Asch and Luke were more than ready to launch that hyperresonance.

" _HEY, UGLY! OVER HERE!_ "

The monsters were simple minded creatures and turned toward the sound, amplified due to both Asch and Luke shouting in perfect unison. The monster closest to Ludger, which had been preparing to lunge, swung its great reptilian head toward the group....

A few seconds and one blinding flash later, the monster no longer _possessed_ a head. Asch seemed to be channeling his power into a steady beam that appeared to vaporize any material it touched, punching holes effortlessly through the monsters. Yet, there was no burning smell, no heat - it was almost as if the affected matter simply ceased to exist.

Luke, instead, wore a look of fierce concentration as he targeted monsters one by one, killing each instantly by obliterating heads or chest cavities with controlled blasts- slower but more efficient.

Occasionally, one of the others would point out a camouflaged monster they'd initially overlooked. Most surprising of all, perhaps, was the moment when the few remaining monsters seemed to realize they were outmatched, and they began attempting to flee.

The threat these monsters posed was too great to leave any room for mercy, however, and Asch annihilated the very last as it attempted to scurry into the soggy undergrowth, its screech abruptly cut off.

The ensuing silence seemed absolute for a moment, until the softer buzzing of insects filtered through.

"Well done," Jade remarked softly.

Ludger exhaled as soon as Jade finally broke the silence that hung over them, his knees giving out on him. He could feel his danger-induced adrenaline ebbing away, leaving behind a wave of exhaustion that was slowly becoming more difficult to fight.

"A little--"

Before Ludger could even finish his sentence, he found a hand extended down to him - _Guy._ The blond threw him a wry (if slightly worn) grin as he hoisted Ludger to his feet. He hadn't even seen Guy move across the clearing in the aftermath...

"I got you."

With him putting about half of his weight on Guy, walking was not as much of a struggle as he thought it would be, with the tempting embrace of sleep becoming a more evident obstacle as each step passed. A beep heralded their arrival, growing louder as they neared the rest of their companions. Once Ludger handed over the object--a pendant of some kind, now that he had the luxury to give it more than a brief glance--Luke switched off the detector, a tiny smile creasing his features.

"Thanks. Guess we're done here."

"Not _quite_ done," Asch reluctantly said. "We really need to make sure none of those things escaped to hide somewhere we haven't yet looked. But some of us should probably call it a day," he agreed with a nod at Ludger. He wasn't ungrateful for the assistance, even if Ludger's presence alone raised a great many questions.

Ludger's smile was feeble as he returned Asch's nod, knowing full well he wasn't in any condition to continue after the stunt he pulled.

Natalia nocked an arrow, which began to blaze with the power of an arte. Despite the clear, daylit sky, the arrow shone like a star falling back into the heavens as it arced upward.

Not long afterward, the darker Albiore returned to hover low over the marsh, and the rope ladder was extended once more by the grinning pilot.

Luke threw a stern glance at Jade's direction, his intent rather clear.

"Ah, I suppose our intrepid leader would prefer I retire early from the mission, as well?"

Surprisingly, it was Guy who responded.

"He's not the only one, actually. I don't want to have to scrape you off of the claws of some monster, old man. Why don't I come with you?"

His tone wasn't unkind or unfriendly, but there was an underlying firmness to the suggestion that meant it was not up for debate.

Jade raised his hands in mock surrender, grinning faintly.

"Very well. I suppose I will surrender myself to the care of you youngsters. Would you be so kind to carry me up, Guy?"

Guy scoffed good-naturedly at that.

"Sure, let me just grow an extra pair of arms. Nah, you go up first. I'll catch you if you fall, old man. Wouldn't want you to accidentally break a hip," he shot back, his smile a bit less brittle than it had been before.

"You go first, Ludger," Natalia said, sparing a kind smile for him, "If you need help going up, Ginji should be able to assist you."

"I think I can manage that much," Ludger said, approaching the rope ladder and affirming his hold on it. While understandably not the most stable of structures, he managed the climb without losing his footing, meeting a young man with white hair and a blue jacket--no doubt Ginji, this aircraft's pilot.

Once Jade and Guy had climbed up, with Ginji giving them a hand up as needed, Ginji waved down to the group staying behind.

"I'll stay overhead like before, so just signal if you need help or are ready to go!" He then turned to smile at Ludger.

"You must be tired. We've got some cots up here too--let me get you to one."

Ludger returned the smile. "Yeah, thanks."

Following Ginji to the rest area next to the cargo hold, he did not waste any time sinking into a cot, passing out in exhaustion not too long after.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Continued in _**[Ch 7.5 - Side: G](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16335968/chapters/38768819)**_ , which is the next chronological installment of _**Promised Land**_.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This overlaps with and continues from _**[Ch 7.5 - Side: J](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16335968/chapters/39002960)**_ , in case you missed it.

"Ludger? What are--"

Anise threw Ludger a concerned look as he jumped off the rope ladder, almost losing his footing on the soft ground.

"Is--" Wild-eyed, he searched their group, gaze falling on Tear and Natalia, "--we need a healer. Jade's--"

"...I'm on it."

It wasn't the girls who spoke up, but rather, Luke. Brows knitting, his expression was grim as he pushed past them, away from the head of the group and towards Ludger.

Natalia turned to look at Luke. "But--"

"Asch can handle the rest," he said loudly, as if it would offset the need for argument. "There shouldn't be too many monsters left, and Ludger should be able to take my place."

"I don't take orders from you," Asch said gruffly, "but do what you want."

"Thank you, Asch."

Without turning back, Luke climbed the rope ladder, effectively making the decision for everyone--including Ludger, who threw his remaining companions an awkward smile.

"I... guess I'll be joining you."

Asch gave a sharp nod of approval, and the group set forward again. As Luke had predicted, there were hardly any monsters to be seen, much less the large mutated beasts.The group seemed quieter, more subdued compared to before. Whether that was due to the news Ludger had brought or due to the scene they had recently left, it was hard to say.

Tear seemed lost in thought, absently running her fingers over the contours of the pendant and glancing at it periodically. It seemed to be familiar to her, at the very least.

"...Is everything alright?"

Ludger could not help but worry about the manner in which Tear fidgeted over the pendant, a small pang of guilt making itself known.

"Was it damaged when I retrieved it earlier?"

Tear looked over at him in surprise.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Yes, everything is fine, relatively speaking. Thank you for asking."

She looked down at the pendant almost _wistfully_. "It wasn't damaged," she murmured, blushing faintly. "I was just... remembering something. It's been through a lot, it seems. It used to belong to my mother..."

From her tone, there was certainly a story behind the pendant.

"I... see."

Ludger hesitated for a moment, wondering if he should pry.

"Is that why Luke was so worried earlier?"

Given the current atmosphere, he supposed there was no harm in asking, especially when Tear seemed inclined to open up a little at that point.

Tear gave it a thoughtful look, waiting a moment before responding.

"...Partly, I think. He knows it was important to me. But I was the one who chose to part with it, years ago, due to an urgent situation," she said softly. "It may have a lot of sentimental value, but no bauble is worth risking another person's safety. I had accidentally taken Luke out of his home and brought both of us into wilderness with no supplies because of a hyperresonance. I exchanged the pendant with a coachman as travel fare, and I still don't... _regret_ that decision, even if it would have been nice to get it back."

She tucked it away, sighing and looking a little perplexed.

"So he was concerned about getting it back. But he was dead certain he already had..." She looked almost _worried_. "He's not a good liar, and I don't think it was a bluff. He really believed it, and he looked... _upset_ when he realized I'd never gotten it back. It's just bothering me.... it's unlike him to be forgetful or make things up. Not something like this."

She frowned.

"He kept _insisting_ , though. He was talking about events that never happened. I feel like he was still _convinced_ , right up until you brought it back. I... got irritated, and we never really resolved that discussion. But now, I'm more worried than upset. The Colonel might have some idea... but he has a lot on his mind already, and Luke seems fine..."

 _...Huh._ That was indeed a perplexing situation.

"Yeah, Luke doesn't seem like the type to lie," Ludger said, nodding as he kept pace with Tear.

"Can't lie his way out of a paper bag, yeah," Anise piped in, "and terrible at keeping secrets too--all of us pretty much had him figured out by the time he decided to tell us what was up with him at Eldrant..."

She trailed off, suddenly solemn.

"A-anyway! It was really weird, and you should've seen them go at their lovers' quarrel--"

"I-It was nothing like that!" Tear threw Anise an affronted look, blushing slightly. "Though I admit I got too carried away myself..."

"That bonehead's brain must have gotten scrambled when Lorelei put him back together," Asch scoffed, though the remark lacked any venom. _Was he trying to lighten the mood...?_

Natalia gave Asch a worried look.

"Oh my... You don't _really_ believe that's the case...?"

Asch shrugged, a little stiff. "Who knows? ...Actually, the Colonel might, but he has enough on his mind right now."

"He does," Ludger said softly, remembering their rather loaded conversation on the Albiore not too long back.

Tear sighed, a hint of resignation going along with it. "I guess if the Colonel isn't saying anything about it right now, maybe it's not that urgent...?"

"Yeah," Ludger said, nodding. For all his... _strangeness_ , Jade did seem to have his heart in the right place, and beneath those barbed words he would trade with Luke, he could tell that Jade reciprocated Luke's concern for him. At the same time, however, Jade seemed like he would be the type to prioritize, and if Luke's faulty memory wasn't detrimental to their goal, then perhaps it truly was a discussion for another time.

"Well, he did say something like, 'Oh. How odd. You might have been woefully sheltered when we met, but your memory has never been poor, Luke'," Anise said, her imitation of Jade rather uncanny despite her voice being a few octaves higher than the person she was impersonating. "Luke didn't really like that, but after the Colonel was done joking around, he did look a little thoughtful... But when I asked him what he was thinking about, he just told me that he was wondering why my chest hasn't grown despite my promise to grow melons as big as Tear's by the time I hit 18..."

Anise stuck out her lower lip at the thought, sulking as they went along.

"Anise!" Tear's face went bright red.

Though it really seemed like this sort of exchange was a fairly common occurrence, as the group seemed to relax marginally at the shenanigans.

"I think I would know if anything serious was going on with him," Asch admitted, a bit gruffly, tapping his temple. "He can't really hide the surface-level things, so we should save the worry for _after_ we save the world."

"...You're right," Natalia murmured. She turned, giving Tear an encouraging look. "Let's not fret about it, then. Luke is nothing if not resilient."

"Indeed... he is," Tear said, managing a small but genuine smile.

"...Seems like there's no other monsters around here," Asch said while taking one last look around the area. "It should be alright for us to return the Albiore, and perhaps hear what Ludger has to say."

He threw a pointed look towards Ludger, one which he nervously smiled at whilst rubbing the back of his neck. Natalia had already pulled out an arrow, shooting it into the sky with the same arte she used earlier to signal to Ginji. It wasn't long until the rope ladder was lowered once more, with Anise taking the lead up.

Natalia stepped closer to Ludger, speaking quietly enough that they shouldn't be overheard.

"Ludger, please don't take it personally," she said, nodding toward Asch. "Asch is distrusting by nature. So is Jade, but Jade has spent enough time around you to form an impression of some kind. If he trusts you, the rest of us are certainly willing to hear you out."

Her tone was encouraging, her smile mildly apologetic.

"Asch is just like that with everyone, at first."

"I understand," Ludger replied just as quietly. "I don't think I'd easily trust myself either had I been in your place. But still... thank you for trusting me that time."

She smiled a bit wider, and this time, the expression definitely reached her eyes.

"You are welcome, Ludger. Thank you for trusting _us_."

Not wanting to keep the group waiting, Natalia made her way up the ladder as well. Soon enough, they were all airborne and safe. Everyone moved to gather in the rest area, where Jade, Luke, and Guy were waiting.

* * *

 

"Is the Colonel alright?!"

Anise was the first to bound into the room, out of breath as her gaze searched for her quarry. Her crestfallen expression was impossible to miss, but as soon as she seemed to realize that Jade was breathing evenly, she collapsed on her knees, heaving a sigh of relief.

"I take it you've stabilized his condition?" Tear asked matter-of-factly, though she looked no less worried than Anise was earlier. Luke nodded, his gaze falling on the rest of the party filing in one by one, looking for one certain person.

"Ludger, sorry but could you stop right there?"

While Luke managed to effect what he thought to be an apologetic tone, there was a chill to it that made Ludger pause in his tracks, uneasy, as he had a good inkling of what was to come.

"Now would probably be a good time for your explanation, but maybe we should wait for Jade to wake up first-"

"There’s no need to."

Jade's eye opened a moment after the calm assurance, surveying those gathered in the room. With a rueful smile, he carefully rose to a sitting position.

"Thank you for your concern. I assure you, I will be fine. Let us hear what Ludger has to say, shall we?"

Eyes filled with concern followed Jade as he assumed a rather convincing relaxed pose, but those who were not looking at him were instead focused upon Ludger. Their gazes were a mixture of curiosity and distrust--emotions for which Ludger could hardly blame any of them.

"Yeah... this is going to sound strange but..."

Ludger absently rubbed the side of his head, exhaling.

"...I'm not from this world. I don't know how I ended up here, but that aside, I've done this waymarker search before. They were different, but at the end of it all, I had a wish granted. Which is to say... the legend is real for me."

Jade didn't even look surprised.

"I suspected as much, to be honest, from the moment I examined that pocket watch. It doesn't seem to operate on principles that belong on Auldrant. No fonons are involved, when fontech is ubiquitous, even in the Dawn Age."

Ludger blinked, not quite sure how to take the lack of surprise coming from everyone. Guy and the rest seemed a bit more appreciative of the unlikelihood of such a story, expressions ranging from surprise to suspicion. While it was a relief not to have his story doubted--save for Asch, who only seemed half-convinced--it was one hell of a way to take the fight out of him, having braced himself for the worst.

"The world you came from... what is it called?" Guy asked.

"I came from a place called Elympios," Ludger replied, not quite ready to burden everyone with the convoluted story involving Rieze Maxia just yet, "and back in my world, there were several of us with this power. It's... related to time, I hear, and is tied to that pocket watch I have. There used to be a grave penalty attached to using it, but for some reason, it just makes me tired now."

He grinned ruefully towards the cot where Jade lay, not making any eye contact as he did so.

"Given that you succeeded before, I expect we may have to defer to your expertise in some situations," Jade said, regarding Ludger with mild curiosity. "I suppose this explains the handheld device you were carrying. When Dist examined it, I believe he described it as 'alien, but not _ineffable_.'"

Jade shrugged.

"Sounds like something he would say," Anise said, rolling her eyes.

Luke and Asch both seemed deep in thought, the latter more so. The rest of the ladies regarded Ludger calmly, not looking like they had any questions for him.

"...So you got your wish granted," Guy muttered, running a hand through his hair, looking a little overwhelmed and sounding like he was still processing that revelation and all it entailed. “Okay. That's something. That's good to hear."

"Yeah, that would be my GHS," Ludger said, trying not to dwell too much on how relieved Guy sounded, as with the the ominous expectation it seemed to lay upon him. "It's a spyrix, and I don't suppose you have any places you can charge it...? Even then, I'm not sure if we could get a signal in this world..."

Trailing off, he let out a nervous laugh.

"Spyrix? I'm afraid that's a wholly unfamiliar term," Jade sighed. "Though fontech isn't my field of expertise."

"I suppose that didn't make too much sense, huh. But it's not like we need it here anyway..."

He hesitated, wondering if he should continue with what he wanted to say. Some part of him felt he had been revealing too much information, but another part told him he owed his companions the truth--or how much of it they would believe.

Guy seemed to anticipate that an explanation would be in order, giving Jade a _look_ before he spoke.

"...Ludger, I'm not sure how it works, but generally, all of our machinery--fontech--is powered by certain types of ambient fonons, so they never ran out of energy. In order to stop the planet from destroying itself, we had to stop the artificial system that distributes fonons through the atmosphere in large amounts, so at some point, our machines are probably going to stop working, and fonic artes will gradually weaken."

Guy blinked, probably realizing that most of this was tangentially related at best, and continued with a sheepish expression.

"...That's an entirely different issue we'll deal with once we're sure Auldrant will still have a human population long enough for that to _be_ a problem worth worrying about," he said. "So... I don't know about this 'spyrix,' but it probably won't work again until it's been modified to use fonons as a power source. It might be worth trying, though, since we'll probably have a few days of downtime. We weren't going to dismantle any of your stuff without permission," Guy added with a weak laugh.

"So I read," Ludger said, "but I'm sure you guys have better things to do with your time than to look through pictures of my cat."

Asch folded his arms, still looking a bit skeptical.

" _You_ don't seem all that surprised to find yourself on another world, or that such a thing is even possible. Even if you didn't _expect_ it to happen, it seems like you've done _this_ before, too. Am I wrong?"

Ludger sighed at Asch's comment, knowing full well that hiding things was not his line of expertise.

"I was getting to an explanation regarding that... but you aren't incorrect. I've been to alternate versions of my world before... We called them 'fractured dimensions'. I first thought that Auldrant was one, but there's just too much that's different about it, that finding the divergence catalyst might as well be impossible, if one even existed in the first place."

Asch still seemed wary, but he accepted the explanation without further comment.

"Is that divergence catalyst thing important or necessary for completing this task...?" Luke asked.

Ludger cupped a hand to his chin.

"It's only necessary if the waymarkers we seek are no longer in this dimension. We would have to enter a fractured one and retrieve it from that other dimension."

He pursed his lips, looking uneasy for a moment as he turned to look towards Jade.

"How... likely do you think that is for the last waymarker?"

Jade raised an eyebrow.

"Knowing this lot and our penchant for attracting trouble? Likely. I suspect our search will take us to Keterburg, but there is little left that would serve as a likely waymarker."

Jade shrugged once more.

_Well. That certainly was not promising._

"Then... I guess if it comes to that, we'll see if I can still get us to another dimension," Ludger said. "We'd have to be at the spot where the rift is located for that to work, in any case."

Jade seemed unperturbed by this.

"Luke, is the dowsing device showing a signal of any kind from the final Waymarker? If so, we should be able to locate the Waymarker or the rift, I imagine."

"Nothing here, so you're probably right that it's in Keterburg. Or something way up north," Luke said, looking thoughtful. "Once we drop off everyone, maybe Tear and I could fly over there and check to be sure. If Noelle's OK with it, I mean."

"North, it is, then," Guy sighed.

"Hey, if you and Tear want to do that, I can take everyone back to base camp now.” Heads turned towards their young pilot, who had spoken up unexpectedly. “Once I have a list, I can do a supply run. It sounds like everyone will need cold weather gear," Ginji said, having popped his head in while they hovered over the marsh. "No need to make extra trips. Or I could fly you two up that way and Noelle can take everyone else back to Zao Ruins. I don't think she'll mind, either way."

"It is perhaps better if we split the work," Jade said. "Ginji, I will be providing you a list of provisions we'll likely need. Granted that our two royals on the way home have no objections to it, I would like to request that they be delivered to the ruins as soon as possible."

He offered a grin towards Asch and Natalia's direction.

" _Guy_ can fill in Noelle about our plans on the way back to the ruins, and if she has the time, she can fly Luke and Tear around Keterburg to see if they can narrow down the location. I think we have enough winter supplies for three people on a short expedition."

Ginji snapped a playful salute from the doorway. "Roger that. I'll take us back to the edge of the marsh right away."

He slipped back through the door, and moments later, the Albiore began to move. Ginji accelerated gently, being careful not to throw anyone off of their feet. It would only take a minute or so to meet back up with Noelle.

"No objections here," Asch said, turning to address Jade. "Once all the waymarkers are gathered, though..."

"If possible," Natalia interjected gently, "we'd like to be present for that. But please contact us if you need our assistance at any point."

The Albiore gently touched down.

"Of course," Jade said easily. "I'm quite certain Luke would make sure of that."

Luke chuckled from where he was, while Guy was grumbling half-heartedly at the prospect of more explaining, coupled with a "why me again?" as he scratched the back of his head.

"I suppose we all have our duties to attend to." Jade straightened up in the cot, prepared to rise. "Shall we?"

"Yeah, but don't forget that your duty is to rest, old man," Luke said pointedly. "Once we get back to Noelle's Albiore, you're getting on that cot."

"Very well," Jade said, cracking a smile as he raised his hands in mock surrender.

And so, the group parted ways once more. Supply list now in hand, Ginji wasted no time in taking off for Baticul with Asch and Natalia, leaving the remainder of the group to get situated in the Albiore II again. Noelle seemed adept at accommodating their last minute developments, chipper as she went about listening to Guy's quick explanation.

Seating himself behind the co-pilot's seat, Ludger gazed out into the expanse before them as they lifted off, en route to the Zao Ruins once more. Much as he hoped it wouldn't be anything worse than they've encountered thus far, he couldn't shake off the feeling that these few days of respite would merely be the calm before the storm--the storm being whatever it was that waited for them at Keterburg.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Continued in _**[Ch 8.5 - Side: G](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16335968/chapters/39402988)**_ and _**[Ch 8.5 - Side: D](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16335968/chapters/39403168)**_ , which is the next chronological installment of _**Promised Land**_. Both stories depict the same set of events, but from different perspectives. Though it can be read in either order, it is highly recommended that you check out Side: G first before checking out Side: D.


	9. Chapter 9

With Guy off to the makeshift lab to assist Dist in hopefully repairing the GHS, Ludger was left alone with his own thoughts. Anise was keeping busy with Florian in their humble little kitchen, Tear and Luke were investigating Keterburg, and Asch and Natalia had departed for Baticul.

While the latest revelations and reactions had certainly created new tensions and, perhaps, unexpected feelings of solidarity, Ludger was still troubled. Given the likelihood that their progress would hinge on himself, going forward, a distracted Chromatus user was a problem indeed. At loose ends, Ludger finally made his way to the resting area, where Jade was supposed to be doing just that- _resting_ , he hoped.

Jade was ill-suited for offering words of comfort, but at the very least, he seemed to know that Ludger had some thoughts weighing heavily on his chest. Thankfully, he seemed more than willing to listen.

"You seem rather lost in thought. Is something troubling you, Ludger?" Jade asked quietly as Ludger stepped into the makeshift resting area. Ludger startled briefly, under the impression that Jade had been asleep.

"Oh..."

There had been a few concerns on Ludger's mind, but with the urgency of everything about them, he simply had no time to raise them or give them the proper attention they deserved. But now that he’d been offered chance to air them, he wasn’t about to refuse, even if it was _Jade_ of all people asking.

"I guess there is," he said, coming to a stop by the bed nearest to the entrance, wary of the results of their previous encounter. "There's something special about Luke, isn't there?"

Apparently, Jade had no intention of sleeping any time soon, as he sat up carefully on the edge of his bed, crossing a leg over the other and looking entirely composed despite everything that had happened a short while ago.

"....You could say that, yes." Jade carefully reached for his glasses, which had been folded neatly on the makeshift end table. "...Although, you seem to be rather 'special' yourself."

"I've been told," Ludger said, a wry grin escaping him.

"Is there some particular incident on your mind?" Jade asked, regarding Ludger with a calm and expectant gaze. "Perhaps I can offer some insight."

Ludger hummed, settling himself on the edge of the bed, his profile to Jade. "Is it OK for me to ask what the story is with him and Asch...?"

It wasn't _everything_ that bothered him per se, but that one was definitely a curiosity who seemed worth bringing up, notwithstanding the elephant in the room. But whatever the case was, the fact that a dead ringer for Kimlasca's king was hanging around them so casually seemed odd, especially when there had been no mention of him in any history books Ludger had come across.

...Unless of course the "Luke" he had been reading about was _him_ rather than Asch, but he would let Jade answer that.

Jade calmly slid the glasses up and into place, the corner of his mouth crooked up into a wry smile. Clearly, he’d been expecting this question.

"I don't see why not," he replied mildly, almost amused by some secret unknown to Ludger. "I am, perhaps, the most qualified person to answer that question."

He paused only for a moment, perhaps to decide where to start.

"There are two key elements, I suppose. The Score, and Fomicry. As I'm sure you've heard, the Score is a record of all the major events that would shape Auldrant's history, spanning from the Dawn Age until the very end of Auldrant. The consensus for thousands of years was that it could not be overturned, until _very_ recently. Events as described would occur in some fashion, despite any attempts to avert them. There's more to it, but not all of it is relevant to your question."

He paused again, likely to let the implications sink in.

"Now, the Score explicitly stated that a Scion of Lorelei, with royal blood and red hair, would be born in a specific year, and he would be named ‘Luke.’ It is not often that a birth is described _so_ explicitly in Yulia Jue's Planet Score. That child was Luke fon Fabre, and he had a role to play later on, also Scored."

Jade spread his hands, smiling crookedly.

"Ah, but I'm getting ahead of myself. Fomicry has a role to play, too. It is the science that uses fonons to create copies of existing objects. I developed the theory as a child, and it eventually saw heavy exploration and unethical applications by the military before it was banned. This includes the replication of humans--also something you've likely encountered."

He didn't seem perturbed by telling this tale, despite his own involvement in it.

"A man with a complicated history, named Van Grants, learned that the Score foretold the end of Auldrant, and he sought to overturn it by creating a replica of Luke fon Fabre. As it turns out, replicas are not part of Yulia's Score, and thus Van hoped to alter events drastically by sending the replica to accomplish the tasks fated for the original, taking the original away in secret to live another life.”

Ludger furrowed his brows. So this world had someone similar to Bisley too - one willing to do questionable things so as long as he reached the end he desired for the greater good.

“Things got rather complicated from there, and we needn't go into it. But the original Luke fon Fabre took the name 'Asch,' the replica has always been called Luke, and both of them sacrificed a great deal to save the world several years ago. Asch died. Both were presumed dead, but… due to a phenomenon unique to perfect replicas, Asch's death was reversed when Luke's fonons --the particles comprising his body--joined with Asch. In theory, only Asch would survive, carrying Luke's memories along with his own..."

Jade trailed off, looking thoughtful.

"...However, Luke seems to have a habit of defying precedents. Luke returned two years after that incident, with his own memories. Asch is a very private person, but I do not believe he ended up with Luke's memories. Since they are almost the only living models of this phenomenon, it's hard to be sure what led to that.... discrepancy."

While a great deal of the explanation encompassed events much greater than the existence of Asch’s body double, Ludger had asked for _the story_ , not a simple explanation. And what a story it was! Ludger would have been hard pressed to believe it had he not experienced equally strange and fantastical things himself. It was, perhaps, the longest explanation Jade had given of his own volition in the entire time Ludger had known him.

"There is a third component, I suppose,” Jade said after a moment, lacing his fingers together in front of his face as his gaze came back to rest upon Ludger. “The 'Scion of Lorelei' epithet is not well understood, but Lorelei is the aggregate sentience of the Seventh Fonon, inextricably related to the Score and a host of other things. Luke and Asch, in simplest terms, are uniquely connected to Lorelei and each other."

Jade watched him with an oddly expectant curiosity, but he seemed to finally be finished speaking. Ludger folded his hands, thoughtful.

"'Scion', huh. I guess I can relate to that, kinda."

Their circumstances might have been different, but Ludger knew all too well the burdens laid upon people by those lofty titles. The expectation to perform... and the sense of foreboding that accompanied discussion of such matters.

"Have you ever considered becoming a historian? Some stuff kinda went over my head,” Ludger admitted, “but that was way more detailed and to the point than the accounts I've read. And it was..."

He paused, wondering if he should dare say what he had in mind. Seeing that he'd gotten this far, he simply sucked in a breath, cracking a small smile to himself.

"...Brutally honest. It was sorta odd, but a nice kind of odd, I think."

"Oh?" Jade genuinely seemed to have never considered the occupation, though his eye took on an intrigued gleam. "I suppose, given your role, you know better than most that power is as much a burden as a boon."

Jade’s tone held a familiarity that spoke of personal experience with such matters, and he fell silent for a moment as he contemplated the suggestion.

"...I'll take that as a compliment," Jade finally said, his lips curving into another wry smile. "Considering the hand I played in these events, I feel I must hold myself accountable for my actions. Transparency is important if one hopes to avoid repeating the past mistakes of one's predecessors... I'll keep the suggestion in mind, I suppose. Thank you."

"Don't mention it."

A comfortable silence fell over them as Ludger continued to mull over other matters, wondering if he should bring them up, too. Now might be the only chance he’d get for some time.

"...I've been thinking a bit regarding the question you asked me before. About what my plans are after everything's over."

_Well, here goes nothing._

"I... want to know more about this world. Its people, what it's gone through... I feel there's a lot I need to see with my own eyes to understand, and too much I don't know but feel like I _need_ to know."

He exhaled, gaze downcast.

"I'm... not gonna lie, there's many I miss from my world, but... I need to stop clinging to the past. If I'm gonna make this second chance I have work, then I have to do my part to do so. I'm... not really sure how I'm gonna do it, but I think I've got enough gald saved for traveling, at least. Then maybe I’ll figure out things from there."

Jade was silent for a moment, giving Ludger a thoughtful look.

"That is an... admirable goal, then. I wish you the best of luck. I believe there is a pair of plucky young pilots who would certainly indulge you, if you ever wanted to hitch a ride with them," he said, eye sparking with a bit of mirth. "While Auldrant is hardly in its prime anymore, there are still many people to meet and places worth visiting, I'm sure you'll find."

Ideally, this wish granting business would not simply end the plague only to leave them on a different path of imminent destruction… But Jade had said they’d saved the world from that path, right?

"I'll look forward to that, then."

Ludger took a moment to lie back on the bed, legs still mostly on the floor as he stared at the ceiling of the cavern.

"What was that thing about you and curry by the way? Luke--" A yawn escaped Ludger, "--gonna cook your favorite or something?"

Jade chuckled.

"Something like that. He intends to cook it as a celebration of sorts, and he's holding me to a promise to be there and eat it. I'd hate to miss it~. It's at the top of my to-do list."

Jade peered in Ludger's direction again.

"Any favorites you would want to have as a celebration? I'm sure anyone here wouldn't mind adding the ingredients to a grocery list, in that event. No harm in making these sorts of plans, as I don't think we'll have the luxury of worrying about it if we fail," Jade said with somewhat jarring cheerfulness. It was hard to tell if the tone was forced or if it was just Jade being, as Ludger had come to learn, _Jade._

"Tomatoes, probably," Ludger said absently. "My brother used to look forward to my tomato sauce pasta all the time... I wouldn't mind making it for you guys too, though I'll probably have to think of something else for those who don't like tomatoes."

Jade hummed approval at that idea. Ludger’s smile was fond, recalling a certain eight-year-old's complaints from whenever he'd serve such food items. While it was troublesome back in the day, Elle's dislike for tomatoes did have its charm to it. Much as she liked to boast of her maturity, it was such moments that highlighted how much of a child she still was--a semblance of normalcy in an otherwise difficult time.

Ludger's expression settled, mouth drawn. _No one should ever have had to deal with what Elle had gone through._ Yet the reality was that she _had_ , and she would be carrying on despite it. He could only hope that his sacrifice had been enough to secure that future for her, and that with everyone's help, she would be able to create that new world for herself.

Jade must have sensed the direction Ludger’s thoughts had taken, for his reply was uncharacteristically soft.

"I'm sure you'll be hard pressed to find any complaints. Your dedication and passion is evident in your work. If possible... I do hope you find a way home, eventually. I've no doubt you're sorely missed," he said with a crooked little smile. "In the meantime, perhaps you should take advantage of this idle time to rest. We have a hard road ahead of us, most likely."

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea."

Ludger sat up, taking the moment to slip off his shoes, then threw Jade a tired grin.

"You too, Jade. Thanks for listening."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> With regard to the use of the term "perfect replica" instead of "perfect isofon", Ludger does not know what "isofon" means, nor does he need to know, so Jade is simplifying the terminology for the sake of comprehension. He's generally not prone to technobabble unless the person he's talking to knows the same lingo.


	10. Chapter 10

" _Lu... er..._ "

"...Ludger! We're here!"

Anise's voice roused Ludger from his slumber, though he didn’t feel quite rested despite having slept through the half day trip. In part was the nagging voice that seemed to be calling out to him even in dreams, not helped by the apprehension that washed over him as he woke up, remembering too well their discussion prior to setting out for Keterburg...

* * *

"...We found a strong signal up in Keterburg, but unlike the other times, there wasn't anything that made the detector go crazy."

Luke cupped a hand to his chin, clearly baffled by this turn of events.

"Indeed. Ginji let us sweep over the continent several times, but the strongest signal was just at one particular area, which we searched and found nothing of note."

Frowning, Tear turned to Ludger.

"Am I correct to assume that this may be a gateway to a 'fractured dimension' as you called it, and that we'll be needing your help to enter it?"

"I'm not a 100% certain, but it's likely, and there's no harm in me attempting to use my power to open it, I suppose," Ludger said, looking a tad uneasy at the admittance.

Jade seemed to consider this for a moment, looking thoughtfully at Ludger.

"No harm? So if we were to enter this fractured dimension, theoretically, would it be possible to leave and re-enter freely using that power?"

"Yes, it should be possible."

Yet, despite that admission, Ludger still looked unsure.

"...To enter, I mean. Just that I haven't tried doing it in this world, so I'm not sure what might happen. My Chromatus worked differently over here, after all."

_Even if it was for the better._

"But back then, we couldn't leave the fractured dimension until we destroyed the divergence catalyst, and it's a search that could take anywhere from a few minutes, to years..."

_Or forever, in some cases._

Jade raised an eyebrow.

"Let's hope that your ability still functions as normal. Other than the lack of a toll, has it lost any other functionality as far as you know?"

Ludger tilted his head towards Jade.

"Not that I've seen."

At the very least, it still felt like he could access the final form of his Chromatus if he put his mind to it, just that it didn't feel necessary for the task at hand. And undeniably, a part of him was afraid as to what might happen, given the first and what he hoped to be the final time he had tried it.

"And what happens when the divergence catalyst is destroyed?" Guy asked quietly. "What _is_ a divergence catalyst?"

"A divergence catalyst is the core of a fractured dimension, and it is the factor which is most different from the prime dimension," Ludger said. "Once it is destroyed, the fractured dimension it's a part of also disappears."

He pressed a hand to his temple, clearly plagued by another worry.

"Usually, I need the depth and deviation to be able to enter it, but since we don't have a way of measuring that here, I'm... hoping my power and the detector you have might be enough."

Guy frowned.

"In Auldrant, there was a land called Hod which was destroyed decades ago. So... hypothetically... if a fractured dimension appeared, and Hod still existed, that would be the first place to look? Is that basically how it works?"

Ludger nodded, bracing himself for the certainly worse follow-up question.

"....So the only way of getting this waymarker, if it's in the dimension, is to destroy that dimension on our way out? That...."

Guy drew a sharp breath.

"Why? Is it hurting anything by existing...? I trust you have an explanation, because you don't strike me as the sort of person with a holier-than-thou complex who thinks some people have less of a right to live than others. You’re a decent person. So what gives?"

Expected as the line of inquiry was, it still rankled at Ludger, sparking a small flame of agitation within him.

"It's not like I had a choice!"

He shot a glare at Guy, but after seeing Jade's cool gaze bore into him from the corner of his eye, he took a deep breath, sighing.

"Sorry. It's just that, the fractured dimensions were putting a strain on the spirits. As they increase, the amount of soul energy that goes around thins out, and it reached a point where it endangered... everyone. If we didn't do anything about it, everyone in both prime and fractured dimensions would disappear. We... might as well save who we can."

...Which begged the question of, what happened to his and Elle's wish? Why would there be potentially a fractured dimension here and now?

"...I guess there's no going around it, huh?" He cast his gaze downwards, lifting his hand as he did so. "Regardless of whether or not they should still exist, I've still deprived several worlds worth of people of their chance to live. It wasn't like... I wanted to do it, but yeah... I'm not really a hero, just a murderer."

He balled his hand into a tight fist, gritting his teeth. _Wasn't this cycle of tragedy supposed to have come to an end?_

Guy flinched. "I didn't mean it like that. Sorry."

A hand fell over Ludger's, and he dared to look up. It was Luke who had reached for him, his palm resting lightly atop Ludger's fist. Luke seemed thoughtful, more sad than upset or horrified.

"I believe you. It's awful, having to make that kind of choice. But it doesn't mean you're a bad person. Or... if you are, you're no worse than I am."

"Ludger," Jade softly interjected, "I think you'll find that none of us are really in any position to judge you. ...In any case, I might be able to give you a rough estimate of those other factors, so given what you've told us, I suggest we proceed as planned. If anyone need take the blame for what we must do, I will. Consider it an order."

Many other solemn gazes were on Ludger, none of which were judging. Tear and Anise looked equally withdrawn with his statement, the prospect perhaps nothing new to them.

"It's... fine," Ludger said, more to Guy than anyone else, taking care as well to throw Luke a reassuring smile before facing Jade. "At this point, I would very much like to see through this journey with you guys, so I'm just as responsible for my actions, unpleasant as they might be. Though..."

His apprehensive look returned, what with more unaddressed worries in the horizon.

"...Never mind." What was the point of bringing up the fact that he had died for this? "If there's anything that's unclear to you about the stuff I just said, I'll try to answer your questions to the best of my abilities."

Guy glanced over at Luke and Ludger, offering a crooked little smile.

"I guess we'll hope the detector will still work inside of the fractured dimension, but if not... Ah, is the divergence catalyst something separate from the waymarker?"

"...I suspect they are one and the same, in this case," Jade said, glancing at Ludger for confirmation. "And actually, I would like some clarification regarding 'depth' and 'deviation.' What is the typical range for each, and with what do those values correspond? I may need to do some fine tuning on the fly, but based on what Luke described, our marvelous little machine should be able to divine the relevant data~."

"As expected of the Colonel~"

Anise grinned widely as she clasped her hands together--an attempt to lighten up the mood, no doubt.

"Depth represents how far in time the dimension is from the prime, and ranges from 0 to 255,” Ludger said. “Deviation tells us how different the dimension is from the prime, and ranges from 0 to 1. The smaller the number, the closer it is to the prime. Higher depths need a greater chromatus power to enter, but I think I should be able to handle it."

Ludger did manage to enter Victor's dimension back then, after all.

"And... Jade is right. In this case, the waymarker and the divergence catalyst should be the same, since a missing waymarker is the most likely--no, _definite_ \--thing for it to attach to. Or..."

Ludger paused for a moment, but seeing no way around it given all the eyes trained on him that moment, he continued:

"...person, as the case sometimes is..."

And there it was.

"...I see," Jade murmured. "A nasty business, then. Let us hope it has not attached to a person, but it if comes down to it, it seems we will not have a choice. After all, are we not already condemning every person in this fractured dimension?"

His tone was crisp, matter-of fact.

"We should assume it _will_ be a fractured dimension, at this point, as I would rather plan for the worst."

He reached up to adjust his glasses, expression unreadable.

"...Luke, if I may? I'd like to monitor the tracking signal as we approach Keterburg so that I can make the needed calculations."

Luke wordlessly handed the detector over, grim as he seemed to mull what Ludger just told them.

"I suppose we should get going," Tear said, perhaps attempting to break the uneasy silence that fell over them. "Ginji is outside the ruins, waiting for us."

Jade took the detector with a thin smile.

"Then let's not delay."

* * *

Jade spent the flight monitoring the device and occasionally making adjustments, jotting shorthand notes on a small notebook. By the time they arrived, he had a rough chart drawn up and seemed calmly confident, which was probably a good sign.

"Based on the strength and shift in signal from this Waymarker compared to the rest, Ludger, I can give you a rough estimate once we've reached the 'rift'. But I certainly agree with the assessment that this Waymarker does not exist in _our_ world. The signal we're getting is an echo."

Ludger did not bother hiding his grimace, though he managed a smile anyway for what he was sure would be an accurate resourceful attempt on Jade's end.

"That would be helpful, thanks. I've entered dimensions before without the those coordinates, but they were mostly of the unintentional variety..."

The aircraft hatch opened, with Ginji by the door, giving them a tiny smile as a small draft of freezing air blew in.

"I'll be waiting for you guys here. Good luck with what you have to do."

* * *

Keterburg was an ice locked skeleton of its former self, buried in snow and left to rot. Supplies and possessions had long since been cleared out, and then the buildings had been left to stand empty and slowly fall into disrepair.

"This place gives me the creeps," Guy muttered.

Without delay, Jade guided them to the same location Luke and Tear had searched before. There truly seemed to be nothing here. It was the middle of a street, free of clutter and debris, completely unremarkable.

"This is it," Jade said quietly. "I would guess a depth of approximately 150 by your scale. Deviation, approximately 0.8. We had best be prepared for anything."

"Alright."

Ludger took deep breath, steeling himself for the task that was to come.

"Tear, if you could take charge of the waymarker for the journey ahead, that would be appreciated," Jade said, offering it to her. "I will be quite occupied with noting our surroundings to help discern what has changed."

"Of course, Colonel," Tear said, accepting the object from him.

"Luke, I will be counting on you to guard our flank and watch out for any incoming threats. Likewise for the rest."

And with that, Jade gave Ludger a nod, signaling for him to activate his chromatus and enter the fractured dimension.

* * *

_Frost._

It was the first thing Ludger saw, stepped on, and thankfully didn't slip on, his winter gear more than enough to assist with keeping his balance when he stepped back to avoid some running children. The light snow that covered the landscape before him was a stark contrast to the wintery wasteland they had just come from, and judging by his companions' expressions, he was not alone in thinking as much.

Kanbalar was an interesting sight in its own right, but seeing a bustling Keterburg simply drove home what he had read in books beforehand--it was a silver world worthy of being a top tourist attraction, a balanced mix of both urban and rural, quaint and modern.

"This way, if you please," Jade said.

Of Ludger's companions, Jade was the most pensive of the bunch, and while not an unusual occurrence in itself, there was a slight furrow in his brow that Ludger simply could not attribute to musings of the casual kind. It was a fact he had come to find worrying, even if Jade's reveals tended to be of the timely variety. His mind kept going back to the discussion they've had prior to entering this dimension--of the possibility that the waymarker they needed to retrieve here might be a person, and what he would have to do should that be the case.

Nonetheless, he followed the group further into the city. There was still the best case scenario, of course--a simple object sounded like it might be the waymarker they were searching for, given the trend they were having for the--

"Balan?!" Ludger said without thinking, shock plain in his expression as he sighted a way too familiar profile passing by.

"I beg your pardon?"

The man paused and turned, red eyes fixing him with a dubious, but no less appraising stare. Which was how Ludger realized that this short-haired stranger was not, by any means, Alvin's playful scientist of a cousin, but rather, this dimension's Jade.

"S-sorry! I..."

But all the same, this presented a good opportunity to gain some information for their cause, and it was with much haste that Ludger regained his bearings, quickly adding, "...thought you were a long lost friend. We were supposed to meet with him..."

"At the Keterburg Hotel!" Anise chimed in, sensing what Ludger was about to attempt. "He was just surprised to see you all the way out here! We'll get going--so sorry about the mistake!"

She started nudging Ludger forward, away from this Jade's prying gaze. Unsure why his attempt was being received in that manner, Ludger remained rooted on the spot--at least until Anise gave him a hard elbow. Giving that Jade an awkward, apologetic bow, he finally shuffled along with the rest of their ragtag group.

Once they were closer to the hotel and out of earshot, their own Jade spoke, barely above a whisper.

"My apologies for not warning you beforehand. Engaging my alternate self is not a bad idea, but not worth the risk."

"Yeah, the Colonel can be way too smart for his own good," Anise said. "Sorry about that."

"We'll have to gather information in a less efficient manner, I'm afraid. But before we do so--Tear, could you give us an update on the tracker's status?"

"It didn't react strongly to anything while we were moving around," Tear said. "However… I believe the waymarker should be around town, as it's been on a low hum since our arrival."

She fished the item out of her pocket, showing the screen to the rest.

"Somewhere… northwest?" Luke said, squinting at it. "Isn't that where the big residences are?"

"Yes, and aligned with our quarry should it prove to be what we are looking for," Jade said, but beneath his usual calm, Ludger could detect a hint of apprehension.

"I guess there's no way but northwest, then," Ludger said, prepared to lead the way if need be.

That apprehension did not seem to dissipate as they moved. Jade had drawn the hood of his cloak up before they even entered, so surely this wasn't mere worry over being recognized....?

As they approached the residences, the tracking device seemed to finally show a stronger signal, pointing them towards...

"...I don't remember that being here," Guy muttered, but Luke had frozen in his tracks, eyes wide.

"...Jade, isn't this...."

Jade's eye narrowed.

"It matters not. Let us calmly proceed; we're being followed."

Anise looked like she wanted to say something, but upon hearing Jade's words, she seemed to think twice about it. Tear simply nodded and took a few steps forward, with Ludger following suit. Jade and Luke seemed to know something about the house, and given that Tear was not steering them away from it, it would look like the place where the waymarker could be found.

The house itself stood several storeys tall, practically a mansion in its own right. But the exterior lacked gaudy decor, giving the wood and brick building a humble look despite its size. Nothing else about it really seemed to stand out.

All the same, it did not explain why Jade looked a lot more tense than he should be, with Luke throwing him a very much conflicted, if surprisingly sympathetic, glance.

Either way, Ludger was ready to follow, especially since he had no idea what might be the waymarker here.

There was no way but forward, after all.

The lights were on. As they approached, no interference came - not directly, anyway. But a quick glance back revealed a somewhat familiar figure... If Ludger wasn't mistaken, it was the _other_ Jade, the one they'd encountered earlier. His hair might only be about chin-length, but something about his bearing and silhouette was unmistakable. He seemed content to wait a fair distance away, perhaps merely recognizing that they were odd strangers, making sure they weren't up to anything nefarious.

Impossible as it seemed.... that Jade had looked _younger_ , too. Or perhaps that was simply because pain had aged the Jade they knew. But if the other Jade wasn't going to interfere, then hesitating or trying to be _too_ discreet would just come off as suspicious. He wasn't sure what this place was, but judging by the way Luke and Jade were reacting…

One--or perhaps both of them--had a strong connection to this place.

"I guess we should just knock?" Guy said quietly, shooting Tear a somewhat apologetic smile. He stepped closer, brows furrowing, before they shot up in surprise, perhaps recognizing any voice he managed to pick up.

"Allow me."

Without waiting for a response, Jade eased himself towards the front of the group, laid a hand over the handle, and pushed the door open.

The voices inside stilled, footsteps approaching them as the silhouette of a gangly, white-haired man in a lab coat came into view.

"Jade?" he broke into a smile, "You're--"

But as soon as his gaze fell on the cloaked figure--their Jade--he froze in his tracks, brows knitted as he cut himself off mid sentence.

"...Wait, you're not--"

"That's because I am."

A familiar voice came from behind, its owner frowning at them, an arm around Anise's neck, a hunting knife pointed at her. Luke and Tear were breathing heavily on the ground seemingly paralyzed by an arte as Anise grabbed at this Jade's arm, looking like she was torn between tearing him off her or remaining still so as not to aggravate the situation.

This Jade's gaze fell on his cloaked counterpart, cold as he observed him.

"Now, explain yourselves. Who are you, and what is your business here?"


	11. Chapter 11

Jade sighed. Reaching for his hood, he let it fall back to reveal his face.

"Jade _Curtiss_ ," he stated simply, with no titles or fanfare. "I presume you would be ... Saphir Ortion Gneiss and Jade Balfour? We're here to speak to the Professor."

"...I see. So that's how you managed to bypass the fonic signature lock."

In contrast to Saphir, whose face drained of color at the revelation, Balfour remained unperturbed. Even so, he was no less suspicious as he tightened his grip around Anise, who squirmed as she glared daggers at him.

"Unfortunately, I cannot allow you to meet with the Professor. If you just step back ou--"

"Saphir, is Jade back?"

A distinctly female voice resonated from far back, perhaps from where Saphir had come.

"Yes, but..."

His gaze darted between the two Jades, unsure of what to say.

"...there's two--"

" _Saphir._ "

Balfour's tone took on a dangerous note, silencing Saphir with its vehemence. Was there a reason he didn't want that person to know they were there?

Jade still made no move to retaliate.

"Would you kindly let my associate go?" He asked quietly. "This seems like a disproportionate amount of violence for the heinous crime of coming to visit. Feel free to hold me at knifepoint instead; I don't particularly care. As I said, we are here to speak to Professor Nebilim."

"No."

Balfour's flat response was immediate, but before he could do anything else, a set of footsteps from behind Saphir seemed to catch his attention.

"Saphir?"

A white-haired woman stepped into view, wearing an identical lab coat to match Saphir and Balfour. But unlike her younger associates, the turtleneck and pencil skirt she wore lent her a motherly air, as did the smile that painted her features once she saw the group assembled in the hallway.

"You should've said we had visitors!" She said, as if Balfour wasn't holding a knife to Anise, or that Luke and Tear weren’t still on their knees. "Let's welcome them all in, shall we?"

"But Jade--"

"--Jade will join as well," she said, smiling towards Balfour, "won't you?"

The smile seemed to unsettle Balfour a little, but nonetheless, he still held on to Anise, brows furrowed. "Professor, I don't think you should--"

"I'll hear what everyone has to say after tea," she said kindly, but in a firm tone that brooked no room for argument.

Balfour sighed. "...Very well."

And with that, he released Anise, stowing away his knife as Anise rubbed her neck absently, with Luke and Tear rising to their feet unsteadily. Balfour's gaze fell on Jade once more, suspicion not once leaving his eyes.

Jade gave the Professor a little half-bow. "Thank you."

With an unreadable smile, Jade stepped aside so that his counterpart, and the rest of the group, could file into the building proper as well.

"I believe it would be most prudent to save the explanation for after tea, then," Jade murmured with a shrug, as if it couldn't be helped. “In any case, we won't trouble you for long."

The woman--Nebilim, Ludger assumed--simply hummed noncommittally as she led them through the hallway. Jade's gaze seemed to linger on an aged, ornate mirror that stood there, but Ludger might as well have imagined it, with Jade's eye back on Nebilim as she ushered them into what Ludger thought to be the living room.

Somehow, despite the encouraging smile on her face, Ludger could not help the wave of apprehension that washed over him then as they filed in. Balfour wasn’t helping, either. His brows were deeply furrowed, and hostility emanated from him like a shield.

Once everyone settled around the couches--with Balfour standing by the door with his arms folded and Saphir nervously watching them--Nebilim busied herself with one side of the room, pouring water into a pot.

"Tea will be ready shortly. But first, could you introduce yourselves?"

Her gaze remained on Jade despite addressing her last statement to everyone, and it was clear for whom the request was really meant.

Jade had chosen to remain standing as well. In response to that simple request, he reached up to unclasp his heavy cloak, removing it to reveal his worn, threadbare Malkuth uniform.

"Specifically," he began quietly, folding the cloak over his arm, "I am Colonel Jade Curtiss, _former_ Commander of the Malkuth Imperial Forces, Third Division. We were investigating a rift in Keterburg and ended up here. The year was ND2024 when we left. However, this particular building had burned to the ground during my _childhood_ ," and here he paused meaningfully.

"...It is clear that this is not the same Keterburg we left, and it never was nor will be. While I am curious,”Jade said, his words taking an uncharacteristically hesitant tone, “I find myself compelled to ask first, not the year nor the political climate, but... 'are you well?'"

This last was spoken softly, looking directly at Gelda Nebilim, his mouth quirked into a rueful little smile.

"Quite well, thank you for asking."

Nebilim replied smoothly-- _too smoothly_ , Ludger could not help but think. For someone who just received an explanation that would barely make sense to a layman who knew nothing of alternate dimensions, she seemed to be taking everything in stride, at most sparing Jade a curious glance. In contrast, Saphir and Balfour looked like they were thrown for a loop. Saphir seemed as confused as he was curious, whereas Balfour's minute surprise was masked by his brows knitted in suspicion once more.

"I'm glad to hear it," Jade replied quietly.

"So what you're saying is that you traveled through a _dimensional_ rift to get here," Balfour said, clearly phrasing it as a fact rather than a question. "And certain events have gone differently back where you came from."

"A-and we're supposed to just believe that!?" Saphir, finding his voice, spoke up, nervous when his eyes fell on Jade. "W-what are you, exactly!?"

" _Saphir_ ," Balfour's tone was back to being sharp, as if he were telling a dog to heel, "the man's story speaks for itself. I surmise if we were to question him thoroughly, he would be able to answer many, if not all, questions that only _I_ know the answer to."

Yet, Balfour's tone from earlier was clearly filled with doubt, gaze falling upon Jade once more.

"Unnecessary as you think it might be, I'd like for you to confirm it anyhow. Are you me from another dimension, from a world where the Professor died in the aforementioned fire?"

"That is correct."

"Then tell us how the fire started, and how everything ended then."

Jade seemed to have been expecting the question. As he began to reply, his tone very much reminded Ludger of the unexpected history lesson Jade had given the other day.

"In my arrogance, as a child, I attempted to control the seventh fonon, which rebounded and started a fire in this building. The Professor attempted to protect us and sustained mortal injuries. Saphir and I pulled her out of the building. Ah..." Jade paused, turning to look squarely at his counterpart.

"She was unresponsive. I proposed that fomicry be used to... revive the Professor, to 'save' her. Saphir followed my lead. The attempt failed."

Judging from the looks around the room, it seemed that the story was only new to Ludger and the residents of this fractured dimension. While his other companions looked grim, none of them wore his surprised look, discomfort evident as Jade allowed himself to relate the story as if it were nothing more blasé than the day's weather report.

Nebilim was quiet throughout, her smile gone as she poured everyone tea, whereas Saphir flinched visibly each time Jade mentioned his name. While Balfour looked like he was taking Jade's story calmly, his shoulders tensed briefly at the mention of fomicry, looking visibly displeased afterwards. He did not comment at all on Luke, who looked like he wanted to deck him that moment, only held back by Tear's hand on his shoulder.

"Shall I continue? I don't believe there would be much correlation beyond that point, as I did not stay in Keterburg for much longer after that."

"I--we've heard enough," Balfour said, turning briefly to Nebilim for acknowledgement, who nodded. Then as an afterthought, he turned to Saphir, whose nod was, in contrast, reluctant. "That won't be necessary."

"Thank you for sharing that story with us," Nebilim said, not unkindly, as she set aside the pot she used. "It must not have been easy to do so."

"...It's one of my greatest regrets and failures," Jade said quietly.

"That aside, now that most of my student's doubts have been eased," and she gave Balfour a pointed look, who merely sighed and shrugged as he turned away from Nebilim, "I suppose you don't wish to beat around the bush about your purpose here. May I know how we could be of help?"

Jade finished clasping the cloak back around his shoulders, inclining his head at the remark.

"There was another matter I was hoping you might be able to address," Jade said, pausing as she moved to hand a cup of tea to Ludger. It was so subtle, it would have been easy to dismiss, but as Ludger’s hand brushed against hers, Nebilim flinched and nearly dropped the cup. As it was, only a drop spilled, but he could see her hands trembling.

Reflexively, Jade stepped forward to touch her shoulder.

The reaction was instantaneous, as the movement brought him too close to Ludger. Jade dropped to one knee with a sharp inhalation, clutching at his chest.

"Jade!"

Scrambling to his feet, Luke rushed to Jade's side, directing a healing flow of fonons towards him.

"...Perhaps we should have that discussion outside?" Nebilim asked quietly, and the look she gave Jade was startlingly different--a look of resignation and knowing.

"Thank you, Luke," Jade said, then to Nebilim, "Yes, that would be best."

Luke opened his mouth to protest, but Jade gave him a _look_ , somber, grateful, bittersweet, a small and crooked little smile that spoke volumes.

 

 

 

"Luke, please wait here with everyone."

He rose to his feet, gesturing for Ludger to follow.

Somehow, Ludger managed to drag himself to his feet. He had been watching everything unfold with clear alarm, yet he’d remained frozen on the spot as things happened the way they did. Nebilim's reaction boded nothing well, especially considering what she had been doing prior. Moreover, there was that matter with Jade, which chose to flare up _now_ of all times.

However, before he could offer any matter of aid or input, decisions were already being made for him, with Jade beckoning him to come along--a sign long expected, but promising no good.

There was only one reason why Jade would want to take him alone --the stranger--and not the others, after all.

"I'm accompanying the Professor."

Balfour spoke, half-blocking the doorway as he went back to folding his arms, as if daring anyone to disagree with him.

Jade gave his counterpart a weary but surprisingly understanding look.

"Very well. And… Thank you, Ludger," Jade added as a quiet afterthought.

Without any further comment, they followed the Professor back outside, though she kept walking until they had gone some distance from the building. It was still within view, but Ludger suspected that she knew what was coming, too.

Ludger, still wary of what happened a few moments back, purposely lagged behind a few feet. Unlike him, Balfour stayed close to both Nebilim and Jade, on guard the whole while.

"...I am sorry," Jade whispered, and while soft, the words carried a finality that was more ominous than anything else he had said so far. "I would hear any thoughts you have on the matter, Professor."

 _Or any last words,_ his tone seemed to be saying.

"Nothing you wouldn't have thought of already," Nebilim said, a resigned smile painting her features. "Though all the same, I would still like to ask you to reconsider your plans."

"Reconsider...?" Balfour looked puzzled for a moment, before his eyes flashed dangerously at a certain realization. "You don't mean--"

"Jade, stop," she said, a hand on his wrist as he called forth the beginnings of a flame arte. "I know they haven't been the most inconspicuous of individuals, but please trust me when I say that obliterating them is not the answer."

While Balfour canceled the arte and straightened up, his eyes told another story with regard to how much he agreed with Nebilim's statement, red-eyed gaze piercing through Ludger this time around.

Letting go of Balfour, Nebilim turned back to Jade, the sorrow in her eyes undermining her smile.

"Jade. Would you and your friends consider living out your lives in this dimension instead?"

Jade was silent for a long moment, and in a gesture Ludger never expected, he did not bother trying to mask the regret, the resignation and guilt as he met her gaze steadily.

"I... will admit, the thought did occur to me. But I'm afraid it isn't possible. Nobody will be saved," he said with calm certainty. "I would not be around long enough to confirm it, but this world is almost certainly doomed to the same fate ours managed to only half-circumvent."

Balfour tensed. "And what makes you so sure of that? What fate?" His tone was sharp, accusing.

Jade turned to him with a rueful smile.

" _The Score._ Fomicry is my sin, but it is also the only thing capable of rewriting the future. This timeline has abandoned it, so the world will spin on its predestined path to destruction. Malkuth will rot and suffocate beneath a Great Plague, with Kimlasca eventually following suit."

A flash of regret crossed Jade's expression.

"In my time, things have been set off course just enough to prevent this event from _ending_ Auldrant if we act quickly enough."

With apology written across his features, Jade turned back to the Professor.

"...Judging by what I've seen, the opportunity to change these events has already passed. Staying here would only doom _both_ worlds to a slow, painful death."

Lightly, thoughtfully, he reached up to touch the bead woven into his hair. He looked directly at his counterpart, his expression growing dark and hard.

"This end is not a distant future. It will happen in your lifetime, and you would live to see everything you cherish die by inches, one by one. I am telling you this not to excuse my actions, but because I feel you have the right to know _why_ I would choose this path, whether it is right or wrong. You deserve the truth."

With resignation, his eye drifted back to Nebilim. Jade's reluctance spoke volumes of the _admiration_ he must have held for this woman.

"...So, I am sorry, but I have already considered the alternative you suggest. Such a future is no future at all."

"That is a shame." Regret tinged Nebilim's tone, her gaze still on Jade. "There's much good you can do by this world."

Balfour watched everything with increasing incredulity, letting out a short laugh once Nebilim finished with her remark.

"As much as I don't want to believe an alternate version of myself would just give up on changing the future _here_ because of some series of setbacks he experienced _elsewhere_ , I suppose I have no choice but to believe that is the case."

He fixed a glare on Jade, judgment clear as day.

"'The Score', you say? How can you be so certain about a phenomenon barely observable by science? What's there to say that fomicry is the only way to change its proposed course of events?"

Jade met that glare levelly.

"It's rather presumptuous to assume there is much good I can do for this world, at this juncture. Perhaps, but I don't like leaving things up to chance any more than I like leaving loose ends."

"'Loose ends'? You don't mean--"

But one look at Nebilim silenced Balfour, his expression creasing into that of concern as he took in her grim expression.

"By staying here, I would be leaving those I've sworn to protect for dead. But..."

Jade cut himself off with a sigh.

"Barely observable? Just because the seventh fonon eludes us does not make its presence unscientific, I'm afraid. Rather, the information is simply not made available to the public." He turned to Nebilim, frowning.

"I imagine even you wouldn't have had the clearance necessary to know of the Closed Score? What of the Qliphoth and Yulia City?"

"The latter, yes," Nebilim said. "I can't say the same for the Closed Score, however. But I assume it doesn't promise prosperity as much as it's touted to be."

Jade's expression darkened. "Simply put, no. It does not. Quite the opposite--"

He paused, closing his eyes briefly as he clenched his jaw. White faced, hands shaking, he swallowed and took a sharp breath.

"...I'm sorry. Circumstances have forced me to choose triage. I cannot save everyone, so I will focus my efforts where I can make a difference, rather than start something I will not be able to finish."

Balfour's jaw was set in a thin line, not at all looking sympathetic to Jade's plight. If anything, he looked like he was about to strike any time soon, but he seemed to be waiting on a signal from Nebilim, who was observing Jade with a look of unmistakable concern.

"You don't have much time left either, do you?"

"...Professor?" Balfour's tone was questioning, but there was an undercurrent of fear to it, perhaps having an inkling of what was to come.

Nebilim smiled sadly, gaze fixed on Jade rather than Balfour. "That aside, I still believe that even with the limited time we have left, there is much we could accomplish. I don't consider myself as part of the Order's reformist faction, but I believe that the Score is still one of many paths we could take." She clutched a hand to her chest, taking a deep breath. "As long as we live and breathe, nothing is ever set in stone. By continuing to challenge each day, we could take hold of our fates and change the future."

"...Yes, as long as we live and breathe," Jade echoed softly. "I--"

Nebilim made a pained noise and staggered back, clutching at her chest. Like his cloak, a cold certainty and resolve settled over Jade's shoulders, and he drew straighter where he stood.

Balfour took a step towards her, but she shouted a sharp reprimand.

" _Stay back!_ "

Conflict written across her features, she shuddered as shadowy tendrils seemed to spread across her skin.

"...Jade..."

Balfour reached out for her, and she lunged.

But Jade was already moving, sprinting forward through the snow. Her fingers, now warped and claw-like, raked forward and glanced across Jade's shoulder instead of his younger counterpart's throat. The wound was minor, but his alternate self seemed frozen in shock behind him.

  

 

As Nebilim staggered away from them, Jade Balfour found his voice again.

" _Why_?"

Jade's eyes never left Nebilim as he replied.

"It is because I know the last thing she'd ever want to do is hurt you," he stated simply. “I cannot do much, but this is one regret I'll make sure she needn't fear."

Ludger's expression was grim as he drew his blades, watching Nebilim struggle--nay, _hesitate_ \--a good few meters away from them. There was no turning back at this point, and for however Nebilim might not want to hurt any of them, the catalyst in her would not allow it.

_She had to be stopped. No matter the cost._

He lunged at her, shielding himself with his blades when she swiped at him this time around. His attempt to knee her in the stomach was met by a shockwave that emanated from her, blowing him away and into the walls of a nearby gardening shed. He groaned as he crashed into it, barely avoiding the collapsing roof as forced himself to roll away from the structure. He was on his feet almost immediately--Nebilim's attention was fully on him, as a catalyst should. Faced by the prospect of their destruction, the Kresnik blood running through him provided a much more appealing target than the two nearby Jades.

" _What did you do to the Professor?_ "

The agitation in Balfour's tone was unmistakable, a far contrast from his cool demands earlier. Yet it was layered by the same fear from earlier, perhaps the scientist in him pushing himself to confirm the truth he may have already conjectured.

"Nothing. This was already lurking within her," Jade said, watching the fight intently, gathering fonons to himself, ready to cast.

"...Keter's sin," he murmured, "was not mine, in this world. Perhaps the Planetary Fonic Arte..."

"What--"

Ludger did not catch the rest of Balfour's statement, the shed a few feet away exploding in a brilliant red and orange inferno with no warning whatsoever.

It staggered him, the smoke blinding him to the rain of prism swords that pinned him against the high wall behind him.

A sharp cry escaped Ludger, barely stifled. While it wasn't fatal, the attack caught his left arm and right leg, drops of blood painting the snow red.

As Ludger attempted to dislodge himself, Nebilim approached, the beginnings of a fonic circle forming over her palm as tension mounted in the air.

"...You hesitated earlier," she said, "...w...hy...?"

At that moment, the sky seemed to go momentarily black.... until it filled with bright points of fire as meteor after summoned meteor rained down across the battlefield. Jade must have unleashed an arte, not wishing to leave matters to chance despite going against a single, solitary foe.

Jade's arte distracted Nebilim long enough for Ludger to free himself, a hiss escaping him as nothing no longer stoppered the blood freely flowing out of his wounds.

For all that she was right, none of that hesitation seemed to remain in Jade’s tone as he replied.

"Hesitation to _act_ ," Jade said softly, as the dust cleared, "but no waver in resolve. If I am to ask such a heavy price to save what is left of my world, I will not do so blindly. You are no demon. You have as much of a right to live as I. And like you, I have found that there are people I wish to protect."

Footsteps alerted Ludger to the presence of a newcomer. It seemed that one of those very people--Luke-- was standing only a short distance away, still panting from the exertion of sprinting here after being alerted by the explosion.

Before the last of the smoke cleared, Ludger clutched his pocket watch, taking in a sharp breath before taking the opportunity to transform. With renewed vigor, he grit his teeth as he ignored the way Nebilim smiled at him as he drove his spear through her and the catalyst.

When the smoke cleared, he pulled his spear out, aghast as the familiar gleaming swirl of a waymarker rested on its tip. Joy and feelings of accomplishment were far from his mind, with his heart clenching as his gaze fell on Nebilim once more. Her heart hadn't been in the fight, and it had been painfully obvious from the start. But her smile drove it home, still on her lips even as she began to fall, collapsing into the snow like a marionette with cut strings.

Both Jades wasted no time running to her, with Balfour only a few seconds behind Curtiss as they came to rest on either side of her.

This world did not have much time left, and this moment would likely the be last time they would be both hearing from their beloved teacher. Heedless of the cold, ankle deep snow and the rapidly spreading crimson stain, Jade knelt beside her. Balfour followed suit, landing numbly on his knees, his expression a familiar blank mask as he tried to process what was happening. None of them seemed to notice the approach of Saphir trudging through the snow towards the group, too late to make a difference.

Jade took Gelda Nebilim’s hand, and though the gesture seemed only to fill him with greater sorrow.

He smiled softly down at her.

 

  

 

"Jade," Nebilim whispered, looking between them both, then settling on him. "We've both sacrificed everything, haven't we? So you _must not fail._ Our futures..."

"...Are not written in stone. I am giving it all to them. That seems like a worthy cause," Jade replied, just as quietly, his hand tightening around hers.

She smiled, then looked up at _her_ Jade, who knelt silent and focused so keenly upon her. She beckoned him closer, and he leaned down so that she could whisper something in his ear, too softly for anyone to discern.

No one would never learn what it might be. A sorrowful cry tore through the air as the light went out from her eyes, taking the entire world with it.


	12. Chapter 12

"Ludger."

When Ludger opened his eyes, it was not to the cavernous ceiling of his resting place at Zao Ruins nor the cold steel roof of the Albiore. Instead, he was surrounded by an expanse of white, with neither depth nor breadth.

"We finally meet again. I'm sorry it took this long."

Origin faced him, rueful in his declaration. Ludger's jaw dropped, recognition filling him that moment.

"Wait, were you--"

"Yes, I've been calling you ever since you arrived in that world."

"Then why--"

"I don't have much time. For now, I wish to warn you that your task ahead may be more difficult than anything you've had to do prior."

"I don't understand!" Ludger was unable to help the agitation in his tone. "What's the--"

"...If everything goes well, we'll be seeing each other again quite soon, and I promise I will be forthcoming with the answers you seek," Origin said solemnly. "Goodbye for now, Ludger."

"Wait!"

"Ludger?"

Anise was throwing him an odd look, and it took Ludger a few seconds to realize that he was lying down on a bed, his bandaged hand outstretched.

"...Sorry," he said, withdrawing his hand and letting it slowly fall to his side, "How long have I been out?"

"A day," Anise said as a matter of fact. "You collapsed as soon as we exited that dimension..."

A faraway look crossed her eyes, with her shaking her head as if to rid herself of a certain memory.

"Anyway, that doesn't matter. I'll be calling on Luke and the others if that's okay with you."

Ludger pulled himself to a sitting position, letting his arms rest over his blanket-covered lap. "Sure."

Anise rose from her seat. "Okay, a sec."

It wasn't long before she returned with Guy, Natalia, and Asch.

"Welcome back to the land of the living."

Before Ludger could ask where everyone else was, Guy spoke with a worried look.

"Luke didn't want to leave Jade, and he and Tear are just finishing patching him up. Jade.... doesn't look that good. He's stable, just very weak."

Ludger wrinkled his brow at the pronouncement of Jade's condition, a grim thought entering his mind as the memory of that fractured dimension remained fresh. Asch and Natalia's presence only served to reinforce what was very much implied by Nebilim's ominous final words to Jade, as with the uneasy feeling that has settled in his stomach since he woke up.

Natalia looked deeply concerned, as well. "...Luke said that Jade wished to proceed as soon as possible, as if there was no time to waste..."

Guy came over to put a hand on Ludger's shoulder.

"Hey, what about you, though? Are you doing all right?"

"I'm fine... I think."

Ludger’s smile was half-hearted as he took the time to inspect his previously injured arm and leg.

"Yeah, I feel a little stiff, but other than that, I think I should be able to join you guys."

"Good," Guy sighed. "That's.... good."

Ludger pulled his legs to the side of the bed, about to rise when he froze, an afterthought dawning upon him.

"Wait... you guys have the waymarker we just got, right?"

"Huh? Yeah, Luke picked it up, since you were passed out and Jade... collapsed."

Ludger heaved a sigh of relief, but it was short-lived as he saw Guy furrow his brows. Guy was clearly bothered by something in relation to that. Did something else happen to Jade, or perhaps to Luke?

"I didn't catch everything that happened during your fight, but I think... as soon as you feel ready, we should probably go to meet Luke."

"Yeah, sounds like a good idea," Ludger said, managing to get himself on his feet. "Let's go."

* * *

When they finally reconvened with Luke and the rest, it was immediately apparent that things were not the same and probably never would be again. Gone was the quiet strength Jade had once radiated. Now, it seemed, he could barely stand, as he was leaning on Luke for support.

"Right," Guy said quietly, unsheathing the Jewel of Gardios, holding it reverently for a moment before laying it carefully on the sand. The skies were clear, evening had just set in, and the desert was cool and oddly serene.

Tear and Anise followed suit; Luke had already placed the brilliant little object that was the fifth waymarker. There was a pause, and Luke turned to look at Jade, who held a hand to his face--

It came away bloody.

"Yes, I suppose it's time," Jade said, barely above a whisper. He pulled away from Luke, but he stood still, gazing at the collection of relics.

"I'm afraid I've been deceiving you all," he breathed, almost too soft to hear. Turning toward Ludger, he added,

"...I'm... sorry to leave you with such an unpleasant task."

_No._

The unspoken word was spelled out all over Ludger's expression, his face drained of color as each piece of the puzzle started falling in place.

Or rather, started to complete the picture--one he had refused to consider despite the evidence slowly piling up, leaving the missing pieces out with the reasoning that Jade, indeed, was simply suffering from complications brought about by the plague. Time and again, he wondered what kind of condition could invoke such a reaction, and perhaps if there was something wrong with Jade to begin with.

In reality, the truth was much simpler than that, and one that Ludger had to deal with more than he ever wanted.

While none of his companions seemed to have arrived at the same conclusion as he had, everyone wore looks of varying confusion at the pronouncement, with Asch being the most stoic, and Natalia being the most puzzled.

All the same, there was one common expression everyone wore, and Luke's incredulous look only served to drive it home.

 _Dread_ , was what Ludger would call it, if he had to put a word to it.

With a faintly trembling hand, Jade reached up to touch the patch covering his right eye. He ignored the faint trickle of blood coming from his nose--it seemed that Luke's attempts to heal him had not stopped his condition from worsening.

As he pulled the patch away, the ruin of the right side of his face was finally revealed. His skin was unbroken and smooth, but it had turned pitch black, as if streaked with soot. Most startling was the fact that his eye was perfectly intact, the red iris almost _luminous_. But the rest of the eye was as black as the skin around it, and little motes of pure darkness seemed to flake away from his body as he moved.

 

  

 

"I... wanted..."

He staggered, clutching at his chest.

_And there it was._

The picture Ludger refused to form, the outcome he'd pushed far back into his mind--at least until his visit to that fractured dimension. His encounter with Nebilim had forcibly wrenched it out of that comfortable space, never mind the doubts he'd had since.

 _Had Jade simply withstood the process through sheer willpower?_ He did seem like that type of person, but Ludger knew--all too well--that it could only have carried him so far.

No, he had to have had some outside help... but what? Or _who_?

Still, more than that... how was he supposed to tell all these people that their own dimension was destined for destruction as--

"Jade."

Luke was the first to speak up, disbelief painting his expression as he took a step towards Jade.

"You're kidding, right?"

The undisguised pain in Luke's face suggested he already knew the answer to that question, if the way his voice cracked then didn't give his feelings away.

" _Stay back, Luke,_ " Jade said, _visibly_ pained. "Please. I cannot hold this back for much longer."

He looked back at Ludger.

"Please be quick about this. _Protect them,_ " he said, clutching at his right arm with a bitter smile. The darkness was beginning to spread, creeping further down his body, past his shoulder.

 

  

 

"...Luke. There is... a monster inside of me. _If you do not kill me first_ , it will certainly attempt to kill all of you, against my wishes. And if Ludger does not extract the final waymarker from me, this curse will merely pass on to another and doom an innocent person to die."

For what it was worth, Luke stopped dead in his tracks, perhaps taken aback by how much Jade didn't sound like himself at all. Commanding as his words to stay back were, the plead that followed was nothing at all like the confident and all-knowing man he came to know. This made him look small, vulnerable, and wretched--almost as if he were another person.

"I..."

Ludger could not help but hesitate, not at all comforted about what Jade was asking of him. He may have made a promise to see everything through, but execution was simply another matter, more difficult than what he could have imagined.

Luke whirled on him. "Ludger, you can't--"

"I must!"

Ludger said it out loud, mostly for himself if he were to admit it. Perhaps by doing so, he could reinforce what his hand seemed to be having trouble with--the simple act of bringing out his pocket watch to transform seemed arduous, more complicated than it should be.

"There's no other way! I... I'm..."

 _Sorry_ , he wanted to say, but his heart clenched painfully that moment, robbing him of those words.

"Luke," Jade whispered through gritted teeth, "I was prepared for this long before Ludger arrived. My death was inevitable. But Ludger is... the one person capable of... making it _meaningful_. He is not to blame."

Jade's spear appeared in a flash of light.

"I am at an impasse," he said. "I cannot take my own life, because I am no Kresnik capable of extracting waymarkers, I'm afraid."

He slowly straightened with a regretful smile, a glyph appearing at his feet.

"I do hope that sparring lesson pays off."

Luke's gaze was back on Jade, still disbelieving, but it contorted into hurt as he went on, not seeming to realize that Jade was preparing to attack.

"Jade!"

"Watch out!"

At the same time Luke shouted for Jade, Ludger called out a warning, setting himself firmly between Luke and Jade in his chromatus form. His attempt to go for a straightforward stab through the heart was blocked by Jade's spear, but at the very least, that managed to interrupt Jade's arte--the apparent tactical oversight no doubt something he'd done on purpose in a moment of control.

The realization stung more than Ludger thought it would, but he tried to shake it off, leaping a few feet back as he reconsidered his approach, seeing that Jade couldn't stay still enough for him to end this quickly.

Jade did not allow Ludger to reconsider for long, opting to close the distance and engage with a series of spear thrusts, transitioning into Mighty Deluge, but Ludger's parry and answering strike forced him to block before the arte could be executed.

" _Good._ " Jade said, just a hint of pride in his tone, as he darted back. "You... were sent to us... for a reason, I think," he whispered, able to spare a glance to the rest of the group, looking on in horror.

He shuddered, grasping his right arm tightly and staggering back, biting his lip hard enough to draw blood. Ludger realized that Jade seemed to be forcing his eyes away from them, back to Ludger. Jade seemed to be trying to avoid targeting anyone else at all cost, and it was easy to understand _why_. The risk of them being too shell shocked to defend themselves adequately was _far_ too high.

"Luke,” Jade said, “there are some things worse than death. I would never be able to forgive myself if I had selfishly clung to life and doomed you all in the process. I have lived long enough to accomplish a great many things. There are many like you who have only just begun to live. _That_ is why I feel... this is a small... price to... p-"

He broke off with a strangled sound, and the darkness had crept down to consume his entire right arm, spreading _visibly_ even as they watched.

"You are running out of time," he said, now speaking to Ludger. "Even my self control has limits!"

Ludger cursed to himself as he took the moment to dash forward, reappearing behind Jade as he unleashed a flurry of energy blasts, pouring everything into the final swing of his arte. Though weakened by the former, Jade blocked his spear with his right arm, grabbing it by the hilt and using it to throw Ludger away.

He twisted his body in the air and managed to land on his feet, but his unsteady moment of recovery proved to be almost his undoing, for Jade took the opportunity to come at him, swinging his blackened arm wildly at him.

Ludger slid out of the way and a good few feet behind Jade once more, prepared to try again.

"There must be another way!"

Before he could land a strike, Luke had set himself between Jade and Ludger, sword out and aimed towards Ludger.

"If... if we give it time... I'm sure we can all find a way to save both Jade and this world."

Luke hung his head momentarily, a plea in his eyes as he met Ludger's gaze, hands shaking as he gripped his sword.

"Please, Ludger... don't do this!"

"L..." Jade looked like he wanted to say more, but the waymarker inside of him must have been keeping him from doing so--fueling nothing but the urge to destroy those that would threaten its existence.

" _Luke_!"

Guy had shaken off his horror enough, it seemed, to charge in and parry a spear strike as Jade aimed for the closest target- _Luke_.

" _There is no more time,_ " Guy grit out, sounding as though the admission _agonized_ him to make. "Drawing this out any longer is crueler," he said quietly, struggling to block and parry.

While it had cost Ludger a moment, the fact that Luke--and now Guy--had lodged himself in the way served to distract Jade from Ludger, a fact that he managed to take advantage of by phasing out of view, slashing through Jade's side as the latter evaded the worst of his strike,

"No!"

This time, it was Anise whose voice cracked, but unlike Luke, she made no move to interfere, torn as she watched Jade turn away from Luke and Guy and clutch at his side.

Somehow, despite the inky black that was consuming him, Jade's blood still stood out startlingly red and human, soaking and spreading slowly through his uniform. He kept a hand over the wound to staunch the blood flow, but he barely seemed to react to the pain. Whether this was from self control, or the fact that the agony he was already experiencing was far greater, it was hard to say.

Guy took the opportunity to wrap his arms around Luke--an embrace, but also an attempt to restrain. " _I hate this._ But we have to think about what Jade wants, too," he said to Luke, sounding _wretched_. "Even if it's painful."

Behind them, Jade set off an Energy Blast without warning, the arte striking only a hand's breadth from Ludger. But Jade himself was now eerily silent.

_It was becoming more difficult._

Between the agonized and resigned atmosphere hanging over them thanks to his companions and Jade's increasing aggression, it was no longer trivial for Ludger to angle himself around Jade's blind spot, with Jade seemingly knowing where he was at any given point.

There was no way around it. Doing a full chromatus was risky at this juncture, but it was their only hope of ending this quickly.

And most of all, ending it on Jade's terms.

Ludger's mouth was set as he held his watch to his chest, praying with all his might that it was still possible, and that he had the energy and willpower left to do what must be done. It glowed as it seemed to answer his prayer, its light enveloping him.

By the time he emerged from it, there was no longer any hesitation on his end, his resolve firm as he thrust forward with all his might. The attack pierced through Jade's shoulder, a sharp gasp escaping him as he staggered backwards, with Ludger preparing for another attack in his fully armored form.

With his dominant arm compromised by the shoulder wound, coupled with the weakening from blood loss, Jade looked like he was getting desperate--perhaps complicated by his attempts to keep down his urge to destroy.

"I, who stand in the light of the heavens, command thee… who opens the gates of hell."

Fonons began to whirl around him, the sky darkening and beginning to crackle, and as Ludger prepared to strike…

Jade _hesitated_.

" _Come forth, divine lightning--_ "

Ludger did not allow himself the luxury of uncertainty, using that precious pause to close the distance between them. Jade could clearly see the blow coming, but he still closed his eyes, keeping himself rooted to the spot even as he continued with this arte.

_...This ends now._

As Ludger drove his spear through Jade and the catalyst, half of his transformation came undone. It revealed his face and knitted brows, heart heavy as his throat refused to cooperate with him, gritting his teeth before opting to mouth the words instead.

_I'm sorry._

 

__

 

Immediately, all the fight seemed to go out of Jade. The arte dissipated, his spear vanished, and he sagged forward, all of his strength gone.

"...Thank... you," he said, blood welling up from his mouth, welling up around the spear in his abdomen, drenching the sand at his feet. The others were shouting, running to them as Luke broke away from Guy. Ludger pulled the spear out with a wet noise, but Jade barely flinched.

 

  

 

Luke managed to catch Jade, sinking down with Jade rather than letting him collapse into the sand. Jade's next breath rattled wetly, making it difficult for Ludger to keep his eyes on the scene.

 

  

 

Luke was frantically attempting to heal Jade, but Ludger knew there was no healing _this_. The stab wound he made was fatal, and judging by Jade's attempts at breathing, it must have grazed a lung as well.

"Don't," Jade said, so softly that Ludger barely heard it.

Yet, Luke kept at the arte, shaking his head as he seemed to be hoping for a miracle that would come.

Ludger, willing himself to take in this scene, continued to watch, hanging his head as he gripped the hilt of his spear tightly. It was his duty to remember what he had robbed these people of, and to accept whatever way they choose to lash out at him.

But none of them seemed interested in pointing fingers, various levels of devastation painted across their faces as Anise's knees gave out on her, weeping openly. Tear was on Luke's other side, laying a hand over his shoulder as she watched, looking like she was grappling with a similar problem as Ludger. Guy already had averted his gaze, gritting his teeth as he balled his hand into a fist. Asch mutely watched, an arm around Natalia as a small sob escaped her.

Jade's eyes were unfocused, the light slowly disappearing from them. He tried to draw breath, but seemingly could not.

"Luke," he exhaled, "I..."

"Jade...?"

Luke stilled, gaping at Jade as he went limp, unconscious of how he had stopped applying his healing arte.

"Jade?" he asked, tone disbelieving. "Come on, you were gonna say something important, right? Hey, don't leave me h--"

The words died in his throat as his gaze fell on Jade's bloodied chest, noticing how it no longer moved.

 

  

 

"No... This... this can't be happening...!"

"Luke, please..."

Tear's voice was equally strained, her stoic mask starting to show some cracks as she seemed to struggle with keeping her eyes on the scene, yet at the same time, looking like she wanted to give him a hug.

"Jade, answer me." He gave Jade a gentle shake, the act eliciting no response. "You made a promise. P-please. JADE!!!"

Luke's scream was the last thing Ludger heard as the world shattered around him, a fitting accompaniment to the guilt that ever so continued to eat at him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas, everyone :D


	13. Chapter 13

In that instant, Ludger was swept into a place equal parts familiar and foreboding, memories that didn't feel too long ago despite the noticeable passage of time.

_The defeat of Bisley Bakur._

_Promises fulfilled and made.._

_A decision that would save all._

_Except him._

"Where--"

Much to his surprise--mostly a pleasant one--he did not seem to be alone in this space between time. Ludger's companions wore various looks of bewilderment as they processed the semi-transparent floor beneath them, gears the size of buildings swirling around them.

"...Canaan."

The Gates of Judgment were the same as ever, including the timepiece that sat ominously in front them, stopped at six zeroes.

And, of course, the two spirits that sat by its entrance, one of which stepped forward, a small smile on his face.

"...You made it, Ludger," Origin said quietly, sadness tinging his tone.

Ludger could not bring himself to return Origin's smile, opting to glance towards his companions who were transported to this space as well. Besides likely being nothing like what they had envisioned, there was also the matter of the events that had transpired directly before this. They... hadn't even finished arranging the five waymarkers, hadn't even had time to come to grips with the last turn of events....

Hadn't had time to process what had just _happened_.

Guy came over to kneel next to Luke and Tear, not once taking his eyes off Origin. His expression seemed to be a mix of curiosity and suspicion, perhaps unsure what to make of Origin, a being that was more or less seemingly made of light. And there was Chronos as well, whose gaze was not boring into Ludger, but into _Luke_ , of all people.

"Who are you?"

Asch turned to Origin, an arm still around Natalia as he eyed the child-like Spirit with undisguised suspicion.

"I am the Great Spirit Origin, whom you have been seeking," was Origin's solemn response. "I must say, however, that your presence here is most unexpected," Origin said, surveying his companions. "Though perhaps it might have been through Lorelei's grace that this phenomenon was made possible."

"You mean 'interference'," Chronos said, not once letting up his glare towards Luke. "Everything would have been easier if that human-loving idiot just let us do our jobs."

Guy frowned at that, then looked towards Asch in confusion. But Asch did not seem any more enlightened.

"What does Lorelei have to do with it...?" Guy asked, hesitant, finally speaking up. "He hasn't made any contact with us, as far as I know."

Chronos simply sneered.

"Lorelei is _right there_."

On the other hand, Luke did not seem to be hearing the exchange at all. Or if he did, was choosing not to comment on it, having concentrated his energies towards applying a healing arte to Jade's unmoving body, determination--and a touch of despair--written all over his face.

"Thanks to your intervention, a miracle has occurred. He will be alright," Origin said, turning to Luke. "it's been a long and arduous journey for him--he's merely taking a much well-deserved rest."

Yet, the reassurance did nothing to stop Luke in his actions, his arte continuing to pulse brightly.

"Luke..." Tear trailed off, wonder tinging her disbelief, " _he's breathing_."

 _That_ got Luke to stop, gaze numbly falling on Jade's chest. It rose shallowly--once, then after a few agonizing seconds, again, and again. An odd rhythm, but otherwise, _there_.

Luke's eyes were glistening once his gaze fell on Origin, looking like he wanted to say something. But Origin spoke up first, solemn as he regarded Luke.

"Moreover, you must return to the dimension whence you came."

 _That_ got the attention of most everyone present.

"...Well, yeah, this place is freaky. I'm pretty sure we _all_ need to go back after this is over," Anise muttered, looking relieved after Tear's proclamation.

"What dimension is that?" Asch asked. "Why just _him_?"

Ludger swallowed, having an inkling of the answer. But words failed him at the moment, and for now all he could do was mutely watch as Asch continued to frown at Origin.

"Is he _not_ from the prime dimension? That's ridiculous; I can sense him through our synchronized fon slots."

"He certainly is from the prime dimension," Origin said, not seeming to mind the growing tension around him as he addressed Luke. "There is only one Origin, one Chronos, one Lorelei, so your spirit cannot be fractured. Your intervention allowed for this otherwise impossible opportunity, but now you must return home."

Guy pushed himself to his feet, foreboding in his expression. Perhaps, Guy had caught on to the implications of Origin's statement… not that it caused Ludger any comfort.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

At the same time, Natalia's eyes grew wide at the proclamation. "You can't mean...!"

Origin turned to Ludger. "Ludger, as the representative of humanity in the trial you once partook, I am granting you an opportunity to make a wish on behalf of these fractured children."

"Wait, _fractured_ -" Tear began, but Guy stepped forward, eyes fixed on Origin.

He knew. And perhaps was going to ask about the elephant in the room: the status of their _fractured_ dimension--

"If he came from the prime dimension... _What happened to the Luke from my world!?_ "

\--But Guy was transfixed upon a different detail, one that had him radiating horror and denial.

"All fragments of Lorelei's soul return to Lorelei once their time in the mortal world ends," Origin replied, seemingly unaffected by Guy's bubbling emotions.

"Wait--"

Luke finally spoke, stricken as he drunk in those words.

"You mean he..." He clutched a hand to his chest. "He's..."

"Yes," Origin said, still solemn as Luke continued to stare at himself in disbelief.

Luke let his hand drop to his side, letting the rest of his words remain unspoken as the gravity of Origin's confirmation sunk in.

_He never came back, did he?_

Guy sank to his knees, numb and disbelieving.

"Bring him back," Guy croaked, his throat almost too tight to speak.

"I'm sure most of us here would agree, if anyone in this group deserves a second chance most, it's Luke!" He continued, louder, sounding _desperate_. "He barely... he barely even got to live, dammit!"

Origin merely looked at him sadly.

"The spirits which are fragments of Lorelei's soul are not mine to care for. They all return to Lorelei."

But Guy was too distraught to accept that sad admission.

"The hell with it. _Take me instead! Just bring him back!!_ "

Ludger averted his gaze momentarily, biting his lower lip as Guy wore an uncharacteristic look of misery as he spoke.

"I don't have anything left to lose. What the hell is the point if everyone we wanted to protect is gone!?"

Guy's voice broke on the last, and he let his head sink forward into his hands, throat too thick with unshed tears to continue.

"All is not lost," Origin said. "Your dimension has not been destroyed."

Origin paused. _Yet_ , he seemed to suggest.

"Our power," he nodded towards Chronos, "can allow it to exist for a few more moments. While we cannot bring things back to the way they were, it should be sufficient enough time to allow Ludger to make his wish."

Origin faced Ludger. "You wish for this world's people to be saved, is that correct?"

Ludger, for a split second, hesitated, but nodded anyway. Setting aside whether or not everyone still wanted to be saved after that reveal, now was not the time for his own selfish desires, after all.

"Very well. That is a wish I can grant... for those who desire it."

There was a soft murmur among those present--relief, disbelief, acceptance. But one voice carried over the others, so hollow as to nearly be unrecognizable.

"...What about those who don't want to be saved?" Guy asked quietly, heedless of the startled exclamations that question elicited.

"Guy..." Anise was the first to speak, lower lip quivering. "You can't mean...!"

She couldn't bear to finish her sentence, choking up on the last few words.

"To be saved and granted a chance to carry on is something I do not wish to bestow upon those who are disinclined," Origin said. "Living, I have come to learn, can be a cruel punishment to those who don't wish to. As such, I will deliver them the mercy of a peaceful rest in Death's embrace."

"Everyone I've ever loved has died. I have nothing and nobody left," Guy said quietly. " _I couldn't save any of them_. What's the point? Take me, too. Give the rest a future I can't _contaminate_ , if you can't bring them back."

The words sounded as empty and leaden as the expression Guy wore.

"Guy..."

This time, it was Luke who spoke, still cradling Jade's unconscious body on his lap.

"Please..." Luke still did not sound anything like himself, tone filled with an urgency bordering on panic, " _live_. I... no..." He pressed a hand to his temple, calmly shaking his head before he lifted his gaze towards Guy again, eyes beseeching, " _we_ would've wanted that."

Gone was the alarm in Luke's voice, replaced by knowing, if a bit resigned, calm.

"Maybe it's selfish, but please... if you won't do it for yourself, then do it for _him_."

Guy looked up at Luke, almost startled. Luke's face was streaked from drying tears, eyes wide.

"....Heh."

It was a resigned laugh, that of someone who knew he had been had.

"Of course he would," Guy said. "He tried to save the people who were actively trying to kill him. He wouldn't want _anyone_ else to die."

"...Dammit," he sighed, scrubbing his face dry. "All right. I'll try. Even a broken, empty thing can still find a purpose and be useful. You're right."

A small pause followed as everyone regarded Guy's statement with much relief, with Luke seeming like he was about to start crying again.

"...Is this trial over yet?" Ludger asked quietly.

"This isn't a trial at all," Origin said, lips quirking slightly into a small smile. "I would say it's what you humans like to call... an 'investigation'."

Ludger stilled, blinking at that statement. "You mean... I was in Auldrant out of my own will?"

"Yes and no. After you made your wish, I sought to fulfill it as I promised. However, there was a dimension I could not eliminate no matter what. While thinking on that phenomenon, your soul called out to me, and that is how I found my solution. I had you reborn in that dimension, but the same interference that caused me to be unable to eliminate it had resulted into several unexpected turn of events."

"Like?"

Chronos made an annoyed sound. "You getting reborn with your memories intact, in the same body as the one from before you turned into a catalyst. At least the pocket watch made it."

"Yes," Origin said, nodding towards Chronos, "it's thanks to Chronos's generosity that you were able to use the chromatus without much consequence."

Chronos huffed and folded his arms. "I only did it because you asked me to."

Origin faced Ludger. "I've tried to contact you time and again, but it was difficult doing so. I barely succeeded recently, though I must say I was not expecting another fractured dimension to be around in addition to where your new companions came from, but that aside..."

He raised his arms, an authority about the act.

"...Everyone has made their decision," Origin said before turning to Luke once more. "For me to grant this wish, I'm afraid you must leave."

"Wait," Luke exclaimed, hands tightening in the fabric of Jade's uniform. "What does 'being saved' mean? I thought you said that dimension is about to be destroyed - it's only there because you're _keeping_ it there, right? Where is everyone going to go?"

Origin smiled.

"It is true, I cannot preserve the fractured world for much longer, and sending them to prime Auldrant would result in the originals' existence annihilating the fractured selves... but I can send them to a stable world. This was explained to all along with the choice to be made. Humans have a remarkable ability to adapt to great adversity, and I have faith that they will be able to build a new life for themselves, with time."

"And you, Ludger, have the same choice. As someone who has resided in that world, albeit for a short while, I grant you the same choice I've asked of all citizens of this fractured world."

Ludger, recovering from his initial surprise, asked, "Where exactly is this other world...?"

"Somewhere you are very much familiar with."

Ludger's eyes widened, then softened as he broke into a smile.

"Then you already know my answer."

Luke looked between Origin and Ludger, his face growing solemn as he turned to Guy.

"Then... it sounds like you're in good hands..."

Gently, he shifted Jade's body onto the surface (if it could be called such) beneath them, and stood.

Tear looked up at him with a heartfelt expression, hopeful and sad. "Is this.... will we ever see you again?"

Luke's eyes shone with determination. "I _will_ visit. I'll find a way. I can feel it now--there _is_ someplace I need to be, but it doesn't mean goodbye here has to be forever. I'll come see all of you."

Anise scrubbed away her tears, grinning. "You'd better!"

That earned a smile, at last, and he turned to Asch and Natalia next.

"Luke," Natalia began, looking conflicted.

"Hey, I already know the survivors will be in great hands. Just don't overdo it. And...."

"I'll stay in touch, if I can," Asch confirmed, nodding approvingly. "Distance never mattered before."

Guy pushed himself to his feet, extending a hand towards Luke. With a smile, Luke grasped it firmly, then pulled Guy into an unexpected hug.

"Take care. I'll miss you, but.... I'm sure you'll find a reason," he whispered. "Could I... could I ask you to take care of Jade for me? Since I won't be around much...."

"Yeah. Yeah, you got it, Luke. Go on- I'm sure they'll be overjoyed to see you, same as we were."

Finally, finally, Luke looked to Ludger.

"Hey, don't beat yourself up too hard about what happened. I think.... in the end, it worked out better than we could have guessed. Take care, all right?"

"I will," Ludger said, surprised to find his voice hoarse. "You too."

Looking like a huge weight was lifted off his shoulders, Luke finally smiled, and mouth set, he approached Origin, walking towards and into the void beyond the doorway where he stood.

The next moment, he was gone.

"...Lorelei truly must have wished for this world to be saved," Origin said, turning to look towards where Luke disappeared off to, "The purity of such a desire clashing against an equally noble one must have caused this outcome. Instead of working against each other, they have created this outcome I hadn’t quite anticipated."

He turned to everyone again. "Very well. Without further ado, I shall grant everyone their wish."

Raising his arms once more, Origin began to shine, his brilliance blinding until the area was filled nothing but white.

Instead of panicking at his loss of sight, Ludger simply welcomed it, warmth enveloping him as it did the others.

_He was finally coming home._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just the epilogue and a bonus chapter to go. Hope everyone can stay on the ride for a little longer!


	14. Chapter 14

One blinding flash of light later, Luke found himself standing in the middle of a flower field, a familiar expanse before him.

The selenias surrounding him were the same as they were two years ago, as with the backs towards him. The only difference at all was the fact this was his second time around beholding this sight, two years older from the last time he did.

...No, those were not the only changes. These people retreating out of the valley were his comrades from the prime dimension, who have long awaited his return.

_...Just like the ones from the fractured dimension he had just left._

Luke grit his teeth, hands balling into fists. It was only a scant few minutes ago that he had bade them a "see you later", yet he already missed them, his heart taking no joy at being "home". At the same time, his stomach twisted at the thought, guilt washing over him for even entertaining such a thing. This was the place he was meant to return to, and these people in the prime dimension missed him just as much--if not more--than their fractured counterparts.

All the same… Luke could not help but worry. Were _they_ truly okay? Would Origin keep his promise? Was it wrong for him to feel more attached to his friends' fractured selves and ache for their plight? To wish he could return to their side, make sure everyone--especially Guy and Jade--were going to be fine…?

_Replica or whatever, you're real to me._

Luke unfurled his fists, a realization dawning upon him. Logically, there was no way for him to be certain that the Guy from the fractured dimension said those things, but somehow, he could feel in his heart that it was a moment shared with the Guy he had known in the prime dimension. Moreover, it was a sentiment that rang truer than ever. Back then, he could not figure out why Guy wanted to stick with him anyway--the inferior one, the reject, the one that was not supposed to exist. But now, late as it was, he understood. Even if they were scorned by the universe itself, those two years he spent in that fractured dimension were not a lie. Nor were his feelings as they went through ordeal after ordeal, up to and including the resolution of their waymarker hunt.

Which is why reuniting with his prime companions did not mean he had to forget about their fractured versions. Plus, he made a promise to find a way back to them, even if it meant having to cross dimensions. Once upon a time, Jade did remark about his penchant for the impossible. Perhaps it was time for him to count on his tendency towards that once more.

With his resolve in mind, Luke began to take a few steps forward, expression solemn as he prepared to answer a question he knew that was coming.

"Why are… you here?"

* * *

"...Pollo, we've got a job to do!"

A kitten meowed from behind, an acknowledgement of his owner's statement as she rose from her seat on the ground. She smiled at him, then turned to the faded pocket watch she had on hand. Taking a moment to gaze down at it, she closed her eyes and squeezed it, lifting her gaze to the horizon ahead. While her memories of ten years ago had grown more faint each passing year, they nonetheless remained dear, this pocket watch a faithful reminder of the young man who had sacrificed everything for the future.

...For _her_ future.

"Alright." Watch in hand, she turned on her heel. "Let's go create a new world."

Her pigtails bobbed in the air as she walked away from the lake shore, Pollo following after.

"...Rollo?"

Her brows furrowed as another cat ambled past her, running on ahead.

"Wait!" she said, chasing after him in earnest, "Where are you--"

Her walk slowed as the sight of people ahead filled her vision, an unusual one given how out of the way this location was. The din of conversation started to fill her ears as she approached them, eyes still on Rollo as he stopped by the person at the head of the group, meowing as he rubbed his head against that person's legs.

Her eyes widened as recognition dawned upon her, throat tight as she tried to form words to a question whose answer she already knew. Wiping away the beginnings of tears that welled up in her eyes, she swallowed back the lump in her throat, grinning widely as she stood in front of her savior.

"...Welcome back, Ludger."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here we are at the finish line, and some!
> 
> Jeredu will be posting a bonus story to commemorate the end of this segment, so do watch out for that!
> 
> ...Though I suppose you'd like to know what I mean about "this segment". Ludger and company's adventures in Auldrant may have come to a close, but that is merely the beginning of theirs in Elympios and beyond. Or, should I say, their promised land. :)
> 
> As this has been the aim of the story from the beginning, we do have an idea of how the story goes from this point forward. Due to other obligations however, I'm not sure how much of these will be written out on our end. At the moment, we are thinking of releasing some oneshots that detail events that occur after Promised Land, but that's up in the air as of press time.
> 
> Anyhow, I would like to take this opportunity to thank some people:
> 
>   * Jeredu, for if it were not for her, this fic wouldn't exist past three chapters. That, and it wouldn't be as special a project as it is now.
>   * Nix, for being such an awesome beta reader. I've learned a lot from their comments and would like to think I came out a better writer thanks to them!
>   * Everyone who has left feedback on our work, may it be kudos, bookmarks, or comments. Especially the comments. We might not have replied to everything, but rest assured that we read them and boy do they make our day. No words can truly express how such feedback keeps us going.
>   * And you, dear reader, for taking the time to pick this up and stay with us until the end.
> 

> 
> That said, the fun doesn't have to end, even with the main story all completed! If there's any questions you had with regard to the story and what not, feel free to drop a comment and we'll get back to you! But really, any kind of feedback is welcome!
> 
> Until then, I will be hanging around on Tumblr and Twitter under the handle @DimensionSlip. See you guys (hopefully) in the next story! ~~Or whatever silly thing I end up writing next~~
> 
> With much thanks and regards,
> 
> Slip


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